Christopher Rogers, Managing Director for Costa, formally kicked-off on Wednesday the construction of ‘Paradise Street’, the brand new roastery in Basildon – representing over £36 million in fresh investment.
Accompanied by the Mayor of Basildon, Councillor Don Morris, and local Costa staff at the roastery’s breaking ground ceremony, Christopher Rogers set in motion the countdown to the facility’s opening and announced the new facility will be called ‘Paradise Street’.
The former Prologis Park on Christopher Martin Road will now be transformed into a state-of-the-art roastery, supporting Costa’s national and international growth – roasting up to 45,000 tonnes of coffee every year.
Christopher Rogers, Managing Director for Costa, said:
“This is an important milestone in a truly exciting project for both Costa and Basildon. We are taking great pride in our new roastery – ensuring we deliver the very best facility in the world to meet customer demand in the long-term and support our growth.
I am therefore delighted to announce the new roastery will be called ‘Paradise Street’, named after our original ‘Old Paradise Street’ roastery in Lambeth, London.
As a British-grown company, it is fantastic to be basing our operations right here in the UK. Our heritage is the lifeblood of our business and Paradise Street will be a new chapter in our rich history – as we continue to roast the same irresistible Mocha Italia blend first produced by the Costa brothers in 1971 in Lambeth, London.
Our new roastery is a vote of confidence in Basildon and we are proud that the town will be a vital hub of our global business. We are very much looking forward to making a positive contribution to the local economy and local community.”
The new roastery is an extension of Costa’s current and original roastery on Old Paradise Street in Lambeth, London – which has been roasting coffee for over 30 years.
Phil Turner, Basildon Council Leader, said:
“We are delighted that Costa has shown confidence in our area with this £36 million investment in their state-of-the-art facility. Basildon Council’s Planning Committee unanimously granted planning permission for the new roastery, and Costa has taken bold steps to move this along quickly as this ‘ground breaking’ event showed.
Basildon Council is delighted to be moving forward with them and working with Costa in the future.”
Once the new roastery is completed, Essex will be integral to Costa’s global business – with Costa’s raw beans being imported from around the world to Tilbury Docks, just 14 miles from the site of the new roastery.
The new roastery is scheduled to open in early 2017.
