Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Drive-through cafe refused by council
SUPERMARKET chain Morrisons has had its bid to build a Starbucks drivethrough coffee shop refused by Dundee City Council.
Morrisons, located yards from the dual carriageway to Aberdeen, submitted plans for a new coffee stop in September.
It claimed it would cater for weary travellers using the A90 but council planning bosses have taken a dim view of the application, saying it clashes with policies designed to protect the city centre’s economy.
The council is pursuing a “town centres first” policy which will look on applications for city centre venues more favourably than those for out-of-town retail park developments.
Representatives for Morrisons, which owns the site, told planning chiefs the branch would align with the “significant” growth of drivethrough coffee shops.
They claimed the cafe would have largely served “tired motorists” travelling along the A90 from or towards Aberdeen on “pass-by” trips they would be making even if the coffee shop was not there.
Supermarket chiefs believed only 20% of journeys made to the branch would have been specifically for the purpose of visiting it.
In short, they did not think the Starbucks would have a detrimental impact on the city centre.
Dundee already has one Starbucks drive-through, close to Myrekirk Asda, and plans have been approved for a Costa Coffee on Kingsway East.
There is also a Starbucks approved for Dunsinane Industrial Estate, next to Peter Vardy, as part of a wider development.
Formally refusing the application, officers summarised that the route has more than enough coffee shops.
In a handling report, they said the applicant had “failed” to demonstrate that there was a deficiency of coffee shops in the area.
They said: “There are a number of similar drive-through premises and drive-through coffee shops in the surrounding area, both existing and not constructed but with planning permission.
“While it is acknowledged that the development proposed is unlikely to have a significant effect on its own, the introduction of the drive-through coffee shop would add to the number already in operation (and) is likely to result in fewer people visiting the existing network of centres to their detriment.”
Representatives for Morrisons were contacted for comment.