Supermarket chain Morrisons has had its bid to build a Starbucks drive-through 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 of Morrisons, which owns the site, told planning chiefs the branch would align with the “significant” growth of drive-through coffee shops.
They claimed the café 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 and a Starbucks for Dunsinane Industrial Estate. Formally refusing the application, officers summarised that the route has more than enough coffee shops.