Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Reluctant’ approval for petrol station and drive-thru in Peterhead

Post Thumbnail

Plans for a new 24-hour petrol station and drive-thru cafe in Peterhead have been “reluctantly” approved by councillors.

The EG group’s development will take shape on the Buchan Gateway Retail Park, near to the town’s Invernettie roundabout.

Bosses said they were “delighted” with the approval, which came after members of the Buchan Area Committee agreed as a group to follow recommendations from Aberdeenshire Council’s planning officers.

That decision, however, came only after delays, objections and much soul-searching on the part of councillors.

The plan was first considered and then a verdict postponed at a meeting in May during which members called for a new traffic assessment for the area.

Despite Transport Scotland’s assurance that the traffic impact would be “minimal”, councillors voiced concerns about pedestrians, cyclists and traffic movement.

Councillor Stephen Calder was worried the site, located at the end of the A90 Aberdeen to Peterhead road, was served by inadequate pedestrian and cyclist routes.

Council officers said “tens of thousands” of vehicles already used the route and only a 5% increase was expected at peak times.

Garry Haigh, who runs Peterhead Motors, opposed the plans outright, saying the retail park was for “large stores” and not smaller businesses such as a filling station and restaurant.

He told the committee the development’s various parts were better suited to the town centre, so as not to negatively impact existing businesses.

Yesterday councillor Alan Fakley said it was “a tremendously difficult planning application”.

After discussion, the committee members were asked whether they were willing to approve the plans, with councillor Stephen Smith saying he did so “reluctantly” and councillor Anne Allan “very reluctantly”.

Tom Jeremiah, group planning director at EG Group, said the company was “delighted” with the approval.

He said: “This is an ideal location for roadside services. Positioned on the A90 it will serve motorists entering and leaving the town, as well as those travelling beyond Peterhead.

“A key element of our business model is employing local people and supporting economies.

“As such, the 60 new jobs we will create will go to people living in the area with flexible roles benefiting students or those with other responsibilities.

“Now that planning permission has been granted we look forward to continuing to work with the council and local community to deliver this exciting development as soon as possible.”