UP TO TEN jobs are to be created as Costa Coffee prepares to open its doors in North Berwick this week.

Plans for the national coffee shop chain to move into the town were approved by East Lothian Council last summer, and it is now hoped the shop will serve its first customer soon.

A spokeswoman for Costa Coffee said they were targeting Thursday (March 8) to open the premises, the former carpet shop at 17 Market Place.

She added: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming customers to our new store when it opens and being an active part of the local community in North Berwick: getting involved with events, providing the store as a meeting place and helping with fundraising.”

Plans for Costa to move into the town were approved by the local authority’s planning department despite residents voicing their concerns at a meeting of North Berwick Community Council (NBCC).

At the time, Julie Scanlon, who lives directly above the shop, was worried about the opening hours – which had been proposed as 6am-11pm – and the levels of noise, while others raised the problem of parking at the coffee shop.

However, those hours have been amended and the coffee shop will open between 7am and 7pm Mondays-Saturdays, and 8am-6pm on Sundays.

To mark the opening, free reusable cups will be offered to the store’s first 50 customers, while the day before it officially opens a ‘meet and greet’ will allow neighbours to meet the team and try drinks.

The Costa spokeswoman added: “If you host or are a part of any local community group and are looking for a place to hold your meetings, please do feel free to pop into the new Costa store and have a chat with the manager.”