A COSTA Coffee Drive Thru opens at Durham’s Integra 61 development, close to the new Amazon site, today.

The new £500,000 Drive-Thru, operated by motorway service area operator Roadchef, has created 15 jobs.

It will be open for takeaway only while Durham is in tier 3.

Roadchef CEO Mark Fox said: “We have a real confidence the Durham area following our successful launch of the UK’s first and only McDonald’s Drive Thru on the motorway here.

"Integra 61 is an exciting new development to be a part of, and Costa Coffee is an ever-popular brand, so we are delighted to work with them to develop our first stand-alone Costa Coffee Drive-Thru unit.”

The £300m, 205 acre Integra 61 site is at J61 of the A1(M) and will include a mix of uses including industrial and logistics space, about 300 new homes, a care home and roadside developments could include a new family pub/restaurant, hotel, car showrooms and a nursery.

Developer Citrus Durham appointed Colonial Construction to construct the 1,800 sq ft Costa Coffee Drive-Thru as part of the roadside offering at Integra 61.

Roadchef’s new Costa Coffee is the second occupier to become operational at Integra 61 this year following the opening of Amazon’s new 2m sq ft Fulfilment Centre, in September 2020, which created 1,000 jobs.

David Cullingford, Project Lead for Integra 61 and Citrus Durham, said: “It is fantastic to see the Costa Coffee unit open for business, marking the start of our exciting roadside offering at Integra 61 which will in time include complementary uses from restaurants, Drive-Thru’s, trade counter units and showrooms to a hotel and nursery.

"This all adds to the community we are creating here and the genuine mix of uses to support everyone working and living at Integra 61.”

The Northern Echo:

A Costa Coffee spokesperson, said: “We’re delighted to be opening our first standalone Costa Coffee Drive-Thru store at Durham’s Integra 61. As well as creating 15 new jobs, the Drive-Thru will give customers the opportunity to purchase one of our signature, handcrafted coffees easily and conveniently whilst on the move.

"The safety of our team members and customers is our number one priority and we will be opening in line with Government guidelines.

"The Drive-Thru lane includes a bespoke serving hatch to support social distancing and we have enhanced hygiene measures in place to help serve customers as safely as possible.

"We look forward to welcoming you.”