Work at 51, High Street has been going on for a week or so. Looks like we might be getting a Costa.

I’ve been aware of rumours of the well-known coffee chain Costa opening a branch in Brownhills for a few weeks, but up to now have been unable to nail them down – but thanks to a couple of tweets by an architectural agency I spotted yesterday, it seems like the froth-mongers are indeed looking to establish in the town.

I stress this is at a very early stage at the moment – planning permission has not been granted, and as yet an application hasn’t even appeared of the system (when it does, I’ll post details). Also, permission granted doesn’t necessarily mean that the store will go ahead – otherwise we’d have a shiny new Tesco by now.

It seems Costa are interested in opening in the old Blockbuster store on the High Street. I’m sure I’m not alone in finding this a little surprising. These tweets were posted yesterday by Architecture Design Limited, a consultancy specialising in cafe and restaurant design.

Planning submitted #CostaCoffee #Brownhills. New record for us, with 36 active planning applications now running! #PlanningLegends

— architecture design (@adesignlimited) January 28, 2016

@BrownhillsBob @eljay1974 the unit is an old Blockbusters, vacant and in disrepair for over 2 years. Improvement is very much needed.

— architecture design (@adesignlimited) January 28, 2016

I think this is great news: we need the jobs, the investment, and anything that pulls people into the High Street has to be good. I know Brownhills has a fair few food outlets, but this has to be better than an empty shop, and to be fair, Costa tend to open far later than most local cafes. I doubt, however, they’ll pull me away from my favourite bacon butty and a mug of builder’s tea.

Also, just watch for the local Tories and ‘Kippers claiming responsibility for this – a decision made entirely by a company they have no influence over…

I watch with interest and will let you know of any more developments.