A new Costa Coffee has opened its doors at Southend Airport Business Park and is already thriving.

Property developer HBD welcomed its newest arrival, Costa’s new drive-through store, to the Airport Business Park off Cherry Orchard Way.

The park is a joint venture with Southend Council, designed to attract investment and create hundreds of new jobs.

Ian Gilbert, leader of the council, said: “It’s fantastic to welcome Costa Coffee to Airport Business Park Southend as the next business choosing to locate here.

“The Airport Business Park is vital to driving opportunity, prosperity and economic growth to both Southend and the wider region.

“The Business Park will create more local employment, and provide opportunities for entrepreneurs and local business to expand and new ones to invest.

“Costa Coffee’s arrival symbolises a bright future for the Airport Business Park and the town.”

A Costa spokesperson said: “We’re delighted to have opened the Costa Coffee Drive-Thru store at Airport Business Park, Southend.

“The store comprises of both a drive-thru lane and Costa Coffee store, allowing customers to either grab a coffee on the go or sit in to enjoy their favourite handcrafted Costa coffee. We look forward to continuing to welcome coffee lovers to our new store.”

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The 51-acre park is just weeks away from beginning construction of the Quad, a collection of smaller units.

Aircraft seating manufacturer Ipeco was the first to move onto the park last year.

Mike Gray, director of Dedman Gray property consultants, said: “The Quad is 12 smaller industrial or warehouse units and we already have four of those reserved by businesses looking to move to the business park. The construction of the Quad starts in ten weeks and will be finished by the end of summer 2022 with businesses moving in next autumn.

“Costa is pleased with the response and at the moment they are geared up for staff from Ipeco and they are also getting a lot of passing trade from Cherry Orchard Lane.”

Harry Bunbury, director at HBD, said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Costa Coffee to Airport Business Park Southend.

“We’ve no doubt it will be a successful location for the brand and is an excellent addition for occupiers – we have continued to see strong interest from businesses looking for high-quality space in Southend, and work is continuing to progress quickly on site.”