The planned Taco Bell in Anglia Retail Park, Ipswich, can now open before electric vehicle charging points are installed

A Taco Bell in Suffolk is likely to be opened sooner than first expected, as an application to start trading before electric vehicle (EV) charging points are installed has been approved.

Ipswich Borough Council approved the proposal for the restaurant at the Anglia Retail Park in Anglia Parkway South, Ipswich, today.

The deadline for the EV charging points to be installed is now December 31, 2023.

The application to change the building’s use from the sale of goods – which was in place as it was previously occupied by Carphone Warehouse – to the sale of food and drink consumed on the premises was granted in August 2022.

However, one of the conditions attached to the approval was that EV charging points should be installed before the development is brought into use.

Today’s decision saw this condition altered to allow Taco Bell to be opened earlier – with the EV points installed no later than six months after the restaurant is brought into use.

The officer’s report brought to the council’s planning committee said: “The existing businesses on the site continue to trade pending installation of the EV charging points.

“The charging points will not be operated by the occupant of the retail unit, but by a separate provider, so there is not a direct correlation between the availability of the retail unit and the EV charging points.

“It would, therefore, be unreasonable that this final unit should not be able to trade until the EV charging points are installed.”

Other food and drinks businesses already trading on the retail site include Burger King, KFC and Costa Coffee.