Plans for a new Starbucks drive thru and coffee shop on a site of Lanarkshire waste ground are expected to be given the green light next week.
South Lanarkshire Council's (SLC) planning committee are set to meet on Wednesday, November 16 to discuss the proposals to demolish the existing car wash building at the Bothwell Road site in Uddingston - adjacent to the town's BP garage and Tesco store - and build the coffee shop with drive thru, a jet wash facility, site access, parking and associated works.
The plans, however, have been met with controversy with over 100 letters of objection being submitted.
Objections include locals fearing the drive thru could have an adverse effect on traffic on Bothwell Road, heavy vehicular air pollution, an already poor traffic management system to the adjacent filling station with fears the drive thru will add to this, and the effect on business for other coffee shops in the town.
Despite the opposition, he councils roads services management team, environmental health and roads and transportation services have said they have no objections to the plans.
But Arboriculture Services raised concerns about the impact of the proposal on tree canopy loss and set conditions in place for the protection of retained trees should planning be granted. Scottish Water also had no objections.
Central Scotland Green MSP Gillian Mackay has submitted a formal objection to SLC backing residents calls to stop plans for the drive thru.
She said: "I have received correspondence from constituents in Uddingston who are have serious concerns about this application.
"Many pointed out that Bothwell Road is an already busy road which suffers from congestion. I’m concerned that a drive thru coffee shop will attract more traffic than at present, causing more issues and increasing air pollution.
"There is a number of environmental issues that contradicts South Lanarkshire Council’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Strategy.
"The removal of trees with no replacement is unacceptable, the problem of litter from takeaway coffee cups is well documented, and it would be totally reckless to approve new development that is premised on the encouragement of use of the private car.
"It is already clear from the high number of objections that this development is not what the local community want. There is already a number of coffee shops, many owned by local people and I hope the planning committee do the right thing for the people of Uddingston."
If approved the drive thru will be run by the OCO.eu Group, who currently run successful Starbucks coffee shops in Hamilton, Rutherglen, Paisley and Polmadie to name a few.
They are also responsible for the opening of the new Starbucks drive thru at Hamilton Retail Park, next to Mecca bingo that has had a hugely successful start to business, despite the same fears from locals prior to opening according to the company.
A spokesperson for OCO.eu told Lanarkshire Live: "The planners had huge concerns, as did the public, about the position of the drive thru just opened on Hamilton retail park.
"We were confident there would be no traffic issues and can confirm there were no reasons to be concerned.
"Of course COVID has made all drive thru businesses very popular but we are seeing this calm down significantly and are confident it will continue to ease even from today's popularity.
"We believe there will be no traffic issues at Uddingston. We have spent a lot of time ensuring the route to the drive thru window is as long as it can possibly be and this will ensure there will be no traffic issues.
"I will make sure our business will have only a positive impact on the town of Uddingston.
"With two stores in Hamilton already, another in Uddingston will be a welcome addition to our family and will also create another 20 jobs for young people living in the area.
"OCO is a proud Scottish business based in Glasgow. We have 14 stores in our portfolio and over 300 partners (staff). We have been trading since 2013 and take great pride in being a great neighbour at each of our locations.
"We welcome the opportunity to serve the people of Uddingston should the planners grant us permission to do so."
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