Five Guys drive-thru planned for Showcase car park

Plans have been submitted for a Five Guys drive-thru at the Showcase Cinema car park in Reading.

The burger giant was granted permission for a 255 sq m single-storey restaurant in the corner of the car park closest to the roundabout on the A329 Reading – Wokingham Road by Wokingham Borough Council in May 2022.

Now Five Guys has applied to add a two-lane drive-thru to the southern side of the proposed restaurant, along with canopy cover.

The application states: “The development proposals will enable customers wishing to collect food for consumption off site to do so without needing to park and enter the restaurant.

“Many customers using the proposed drive thru lane would be existing customers that would use this facility rather than park and enter the restaurant to purchase food.

“The road network in the vicinity of the site provides access to the Winnersh Triangle Business Park and the Winnersh Triangle Park and Ride site and the drive-thru is also anticipated to draw trade for vehicles passing the site.

“As such, it is not anticipated that the provision of drive-thru lanes at the restaurant will result in many new trips to the area or affect the operation of the local road network.”

The restaurant and drive-thru will mean the loss of 56 car parking spaces, out of a total 579.

The team on the project includes Hurstwood Design Group as architects, Firstplan as planning consultant and TTP Consulting on transport.