Ipswich Costa drive-thru to ‘reopen this week’ after huge lockdown queues forced closure

However, the cafe giant has not said what changes it will make to its Ipswich Euro Retail Park store after cars back up to the Sainsbury’s roundabout on Sunday.

The Costa Coffee at Ipswich’s Euro Retail Park was one of 17 sites opened over the first weekend in May following six weeks of lockdown, with the drive-thru designed to offer key workers a chance to buy a coffee on essential journeys.

However, it was closed by staff after huge tailacks.Now the UK’s biggest coffee chain has said the shop will reopen “early this week”, with an exact date yet to be confirmed.When asked what steps will be taken to prevent queues of traffic blocking the road again, a spokesman for the coffee chain said an announcement will be made in due course.A spokesman for Suffolk Constabulary said: “We didn’t tell Costa they had to close, however we did tell them they had to do something about the traffic.“We said they needed to find a better way for cars to queue or they would need to find another way as police officers cannot stay there all day to control the traffic.“They then decided it was best to close.”More: Costa Coffee drive-thru to reopen in Ipswich and Stowmarket

Sites at Harwich, Stowmarket, Norwich and Cambridge also opened across the east of England. There were no reports of similar problems across Costa’s other branches.

In response to the closure of the Ipswich site at the weekend, a Costa Coffee spokesman said: “Our number one priority is the safety of our store teams and customers.

“In line with the re-opening of a small number of drive-thru lanes and delivery stores this weekend, we’ve ensured strict measures have been put in place aligned to government guidelines.

“We’d like to reinforce that our-drive thru lanes are open to offer key workers the chance to enjoy a Costa on essential journeys, whilst our delivery stores allow customers the opportunity to order a Costa from the comfort of their own home.”