Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Starbucks will fight refusal of outlet in town
COFFEE giant Starbucks has mounted an appeal bid against Angus Council’s refusal for an outlet on the site of a fireravaged Arbroath hotel.
The firm want to build a cafe and drive-thru where the Seaforth stood until it was destroyed in a dramatic blaze in 2006.
An early-morning fire tore through the distinctive Art Deco building.
It reduced one of the town’s most famous establishments of its era to a charred shell.
And the gateway Dundee Road site near Arbroath seafront still lies empty almost two decades on.
It is between Arbroath FC’s Gayfield Park and the popular West Links tourist area.
There have been a number of proposals for the land, but none have progressed.
Next week, developers will challenge Angus Council’s rejection of the plan.
In September, Mungo Park Ltd and CW Properties were told the cafe and drive-thru bid did not meet planning policy.
Officials say the site is safeguarded for hotel, leisure or tourism use.
“The proposed development would not constitute a design solution which would contribute positively to the character and sense of place in the surrounding area,” they said.
And it did not meet the “aspiration to provide a landmark hotel and/ or leisure, tourism or recreation development in an important seafront location.”
But the applicants hope a Starbucks there could be the catalyst for a muchneeded lodge-type hotel on the site.
They say their proposal leaves enough space within the site for a 40-bedroom hotel.
Angus development management review committee will consider the appeal next week. The subcommittee considers cases including those refused under delegated powers.