STARBUCKS is set to return to Winchester High Street after an eight-month absence.

Cobra Coffee, its UK franchise partner, has taken on the former Jigsaw shop on the corner of the High Street and Market Lane.

It has applied for permission from the city council for outdoor tables and seating.

The development means the loss of a clothes shop and another coffee shop in the city centre, a regular source of debate around the future of the High Street.

Starbucks' previous Winchester branch was further up the High Street in The Pentice but it closed for good last July after initially shutting temporarily during the first lockdown in March.

Cobra Coffee is owned by Southern Co-op and has been operating since 2013, with a number of Starbucks sites across the south and south west of England. It has plans for growth over the next three years across the region and according to its website has only one outlet in Hampshire, in Southampton.

A Starbucks spokeswoman, speaking also for Cobra Coffee, said this afternoon: "We are always looking for new locations and opportunities to bring the Starbucks Experience to customers in the UK, but at this time we have no updates to share about plans at Winchester.”