Plans have been tabled for a new Costa Coffee drive-through restaurant in Lochaber on a site previously earmarked for a KFC outlet.
Belfast-based developer Herbal Eastern bought the land at Nevis Square in Fort William’s North Road more than two years ago.
And in August 2014, Highland Council granted planning permission for a KFC on the site next to the A82 Inverness-Glasgow road.
The premises occupied by the previous occupants, Nevis Garden Centre and John Disher’s carpet showroom, were demolished.
The developer then purchased additional land next to the railway in the hope of increasing the scale of the development and a revised planning application was submitted.
At the time KFC insisted it was committed to coming to Fort William, but earlier this year it confirmed it had no “specific plans” for the location.
Herbal is now seeking consent for a Costa Coffee drive-through restaurant, with an outdoor seating area and parking for 28 vehicles.
Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillor Bren Gormley said it would good to see the empty site tidied up.
He said: “All the new eating places that have appeared in the town in the last few years seem to be doing a good trade.
“There’s clearly a demand and we seem to have visitors around all year now, as opposed to just the summer like a generation ago.
“The drive-though idea may well meet a need, particularly for people in self-catering accommodation as well as locals.
“I think it could add something useful to the mix.”
