Dundee councillors have voted to reject an application by Henry’s Coffee House to convert a disused car wash into a drive-thru outlet.
The planning committee reached a split vote on Monday evening on whether the local business could repurpose a unit just off East Dock Street.
However, the committee’s convener, SNP councillor for the East End, Will Dawson, exercised his right to a ‘casting vote’ on the 13 in favour and 13 against stalemate.
Council officers had recommended it be refused because it didn’t meet the requirements of its local development plan.
Key within this are aims to prioritise keeping development in the city centre – the town first principle – and moving toward environmental sustainability.
However, after a verbal report at the online meeting given by Jonathan Horne, the business’ owner, Labour councillor for the Ferry, Pete Shears, offered an amendment saying the committee should exercise some “leeway”.
Mr Shears appealed to other councillors in his defeated amendment about the benefits of job creation and that “money spent in Henry’s is staying in Dundee”.
This was in reference to other franchise drive-thrus being given permission to operate around the city’s busiest roads.
Among these are approved plans for a Burger King and coffee shop off Riverside Drive and a Starbucks drive-thru off Kingsway West that opened in 2018.
There are currently two branches of Henry’s Coffee House in the centre, one on the Seagate and one opposite the council chambers in the City Square which is currently closed due to a fire.
‘Local business at its heart’
Mr Horne said: “We are a family-owned, independent business in Dundee.
“Within planning, we’ve followed the town centre first principle, I believe. With the two premises we have here, we believe in the city centre.
“We provide jobs for over 20 people in the city (and) we want to do more.
“If this application was granted, we’d be looking to providing an additional 15 to 20 additional jobs for people who need them.
“I believe a city should have local business at its heart. In the drive-thru marketplace in Dundee, local businesses are not represented.”
‘Local business, local jobs’
Talking about the application, Councillor Pete Shears said: “Perhaps it doesn’t meet the letter of the law, but there are considerations. This is a bit of empty space.
“As far as we’re aware no-one else is trying to use it.
“In terms of the town centre first policy: we can’t put a drive-thru in a town centre, it’s pedestrianised.”
He continued: “This is a local business that is creating local jobs…Tim Hortons, Starbucks; they’re not local companies. Money that’s spent in Starbucks is coming out of Dundee.
“Money that’s being spent in Henry’s is staying in Dundee.
“We’ve given drive-thrus to Tim Hortons and Starbucks. We now have a chance to give that for a local business.”
Mr Shears was seconded by West End Liberal Democrat councillor, Fraser Macpherson.
‘Madness to approve another drive thru’
However, SNP councillor for Maryfield Ken Lynn said: “Clearly the last thing the city needs is yet another drive-thru. We already have too many.
“We have a climate emergency, the council has declared a climate emergency. To me, it would be madness to approve yet another drive-thru.”
Gregor Hamilton, head of planning and economic development explained former and future drive-thru decisions: “Each application requires to be considered on its individual merits and a number of those drive-thru applications have been through the planning committee.
“The planning committee has not always supported them; sometimes they have been granted on appeal.
“I anticipate that the importance of the town centre’s first principle, the importance of responding to the climate emergency, is likely to mean that the policy context for such developments will become more challenging as we go forward.”
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