Councillors have given the go-ahead for a Subway sandwich shop and drive-thru in Elgin.
The move made by members of Moray Council’s local review body went against a previous decision to refuse the application.
However, at a meeting today councillors unanimously agreed the proposals for the shop.
It will be located at 4 Riverside Road, on the eastern outskirts of Elgin close to the A96.
Officers recommended the application be refused on the grounds the site was reserved for industrial use including storage and distribution within the local development plan, and would reduce the amount of employment land available in the town.
Forres councillor Aaron McLean said: “There are other businesses there – KFC, Costa and further down we’ve got Grampian Furnishers that has a cafe as well.
“I think this would be in keeping with the existing businesses.”
16 jobs will be created
Given the sandwich shop and drive-thru would have 16 workers, Keith and Cullen councillor Donald Gatt felt the proposal was an acceptable departure from policy.
He said: “This creates eight full-time and eight part-time jobs. That’s the bottom line for me.
“Given what’s gone on before in that area this would be a complementary business.”
Mr Gatt was advised while the most recent local development plan acknowledged there were non-compliant users on the site, it was identified for industrial use with the potential to accommodate higher skilled jobs.
Mr Gatt said: “How long do you wait for an opportunity for those jobs to be forthcoming?
“We could be waiting years or it might not happen at all. Some employment is better than no employment in my book.”
With no one putting forward an amendment, Mr Gatt’s motion was agreed.
