On the road to new Starbucks
Plan for drive-through on A9
A site near the Little Chef restaurant on the A9 near Dunblane could soon be turned into a Starbucks drivethrough.
Euro Garages Ltd have submitted an application to Stirling Council planners for a “drive-through pod” with a circulation route and car parking south of east Balhaldie Filling Station. The proposal includes 35 parking spaces with a new access from the main service station area.
The site is former farmland south of the petrol station and Little Chef restaurant and accessible from the southbound side of the A9 linking Perth and Dunblane.
The applicants say the nearest petrol station providing a food and drink offering is 13 miles away in Stirling (BP with a KFC drive-through at the Craigs roundabout) with the next nearest 20 miles away near Airth (a BP with a Subway unit).
Agent for the applicants, planning consultant Jake McLeod, said in a submission to council planners: “Evidently there is a clear, qualitative deficiency of petrol filling stations in the Dunblane and Stirling areas which provide an ancillary food and drink offer, designed specifically for motorists.
“The proposed development will bring redundant land back into intensive economic use to serve a specific locational need in light of a proven deficiency.
“It will be of a suitable scale, designed specifically to cater for the needs of motorists on the southbound side of the A9, from a wide and varied area.
“The proposal will support linked trips, thus preventing unnecessary journeys elsewhere on the highway network and in turn reducing traffic congestion.
“The scale of the proposed drivethrough pod will complement the Little Chef restaurant and the petrol filling station.
“New employment positions, fulltime and part-time employment positions for people in the local area, will be directly created at the site, therefore supporting the local economy.”