Councillors in Aberdeen have backed plans to create a pavement cafe area outside a Union Street bakery.
The application from Greggs for its location near Market Street was voted through by 10-4 at a meeting of the planning development management committee.
It marks another small step in the changing nature of the city’s main thoroughfare, the famous ‘Granite Mile’, which has deteriorated in recent years.
The council’s Labour-led administration is consulting on a masterplan aimed at revitalising the city centre, with Union Street a focal point.
There has also been a marked shift away from traditional retail use, with an increase in coffee shops and restaurants reflecting the changing habits of shoppers.
Deputy council leader Marie Boulton argued the committee should hold off on making a decision on the Greggs application until the city’s Disability Advisory Group (DAG) had been consulted.
The council’s roads department had objected to the application for tables and chairs on the pavement, prompting concerns about the impact on visually impaired pedestrians or wheelchair users.
Roads officials said it would create an “obstruction, a pinch point and a trip hazard.”
Mrs Boulton said DAG should be given the chance to have a say “as a point of principle”.
She added: “I’m not saying lets not have it, I’m saying let’s do it right. Scottish Government is consistently telling us to listen to the public, and all sections of the public. I think we are missing an opportunity here.”
Committee convener Ramsay Milne moved for approval and said there were already tables outside the Archibald Simpson pub, which has a narrower pavement.
Torry and Ferryhill ward member Alan Donnelly said: “I want the city to move forward, I want to see it become more continental with the tables and chairs out, and this is a step towards that.”
Rosemount and Midstocket member Bill Cormie agreed: “It is great to see. There is plenty of street furniture already at the top end of Union Street, I think we are going overboard worrying about it – taking those advertising boards away from the pavement on Belmont Street was a mistake.”
Hazlehead, Ashley and Queens Cross councillor John Corral added: “We should not be putting more obstacles to the pretty significant cultural change we need in this city.”
The application was approved with an added condition on waste bin provision for the outdoor area.