Crieff is set for its first Starbucks drive-thru after councillors approved plans for a site next to the town’s Aldi supermarket.
The coffee chain’s latest Perthshire project will feature a café with drive-thru facilities and electric vehicle charging points.
It will be built on undeveloped ground to the west of Aldi on Broich Road, Crieff.
The developer behind the plans has promised the new Starbucks will “create employment opportunities for a wide variety of ages”.
But the proposals have proved controversial.
The application generated 40 public comments.
Of those, 37 were from objectors.
Critics raised concerns about road safety and littering, among other issues.
One wrote: “This development is on Broich Road in close proximity to three schools and four housing developments.
“The capacity for accidents is already high, indeed the road has already had to be realigned after a near fatal accident.”
Another said: “I do not, in the strongest terms, think it is not a good idea to have a Starbucks so close to a school on many fronts, including the easy of access for children to ultra processed food, the impacts on traffic so close to a school, and the impact on the wider economy of the town.
“There are enough independent coffee shops in Crieff on the high street.”
Will Starbucks turn Crieff into a drive-thru town?
The impact on Crieff town centre was a concern for many objectors.
One said the council should be doing more to tackle the many empty dilapidated buildings on the high street.
“If Starbucks were proposing to invest in an already empty unit then I would feel much more supportive, as I could see how this could improve the footfall on the high street and help other businesses closer in proximity,” the opponent said.
“However, I don’t see how a drive-through Starbucks at the bottom of a steep hill far away from the main high street would incentivise people to invest their time and money up there.
“I think the opposite – the drive-through aspect will encourage Crieff to be more of a drive-through town.”
Perth and Kinross Council’s planning committee approved the application when it met on Wednesday.
Councillors were told: “The application site is accessed from Broich Road and through the existing car park that has been constructed in association with the Aldi store.”
Strathearn Community Campus is close by, as is Crieff Primary School and its nursery.
St Dominic’s Primary is also on Broich Road.
And hundreds of new homes are being built across the road from the Starbucks site.
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