A new Starbucks coffee shop with a drive-thru has opened for residents near Swaythling.

The new cafe on Wide Lane is open for both pedestrians looking to sit down with a hot brew and drivers who are looking to get a coffee and a snack on the go.  

Plans were approved by Southampton City Council in June 2023 to breathe a new lease of life into the former Ford factory on Wide Lane near Swaythling that was long derelict.  

The site sat mainly unused since Ford pulled its workers out back in 2013, after 60 years manufacturing cars at the factory.

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In that time, more than 2.2 million Ford Transit vans were built by the company at its city-based plant.

All 531 employees working at the factory chose to either be redeployed within Ford or take voluntary redundancy or early retirement.

This comes as another Starbucks coffee drive-thru could also be planned for Hedge End.

As reported by the Echo last year, developers want to extend the existing coffee shop in Hedge End by replacing the former adjoining Carphone Warehouse unit.