A long-established family bakery has come up with a novel way of combating the hunger pangs of late-night revellers in St Andrews the installation of a “24-hour bakery” vending machine in the centre of town.
Fisher & Donaldson, famous for its quality bakery products for five generations, recently installed the machine in the doorway of an empty shop it owns next to its premises in Church Street.
The machine, inspired by a cake vending machine in Glasgow, was established a fortnight ago as an “experiment”, and so far the bakery says it has been “received extremely well”.
Ben Milne, manager of Fisher & Donaldson and a fifth-generation baker with the family firm, told The Courier: “I thought some people might not like it, but I think it’s probably more tasteful than some of the kebab shop and chip shop frontages in the town.
“It’s only there as an experiment I hope to get a permanent home for it in the new year but so far we’ve had 13,000 hits on Facebook from people who think it’s great.”
But some local people have questioned the suitability of the machine, which sells hot pies, sausage rolls and rhubarb pies amongst others, in the heart of the St Andrews conservation area.
St Andrews Labour councillor Brian Thomson said: “I first became aware of the vending machine by someone posting a photo of it on Facebook and, having subsequently viewed it, I am very surprised to see it located in such a prominent location.“I am sure it will be appreciated by some people looking for something to eat on the way home from a night out, but it’s completely inappropriate in the St Andrews Conservation Area, where a lot of effort goes into maintaining the character of the overall streetscape.
“I have raised the matter with the council’s planners, and they are looking into whether or not it requires planning permission.”
St Andrews councillor Dorothea Morrison told this week’s St Andrews Community Council that “perhaps surprisingly it was proving popular to revellers at the weekends”.
Jim Birrell, Fife Council development and buildings senior manager, told The Courier: “The vending machine does not require planning permission.
“The premises have also been visited by environmental health officers and there are no concerns in relation to food safety and/or health and safety legislation enforceable by the council.”