Café and drive-through at Site Adjacent To Aldi Unit, Harlaw Road, Inverurie

What was proposed

A single-storey café with a drive-through takeaway, parking, landscaping, acoustic fencing and electric vehicle charging was proposed beside Aldi.

“This application seeks planning permission for the erection of building for restaurant use (Class 3) with drive through takeaway (sui generis) and associated car parking and landscaping. The proposed restaurant (which will take the form of a café) and drive through would be a single storey building with flat-roofed elements. The building would measure 21.6m by 9.22m with a total footprint of 210 sqm and a maximum height of approximately 3.9 m.”

“The proposed development will take access via the existing Aldi car park, as was the intended access to the approved retail unit so in that respect there is no change to the access proposals already agreed. Vehicle and pedestrian access to the Aldi store and the surrounding uses will also remain unchanged.”

Officer report

The site and surroundings

The vacant brownfield site lies within Inverurie town centre, near shops, homes, public transport, the railway station and community facilities.

“The site is vacant brownfield land located to the north east of the existing Aldi supermarket building. It was historically occupied by a railway depot with associated railway tracks. The site benefits from an extant planning approval for the construction of a retail store adjacent to the Aldi supermarket (APP/2007/1967) granted February 2011. The Aldi store was built and has been in operation for several years, but the remainder of the permission has not been implemented.”

“The site is located within 400m of the Inverurie Town Hall, which is the main bus terminus in the town, Market Square and railway station. The site is accessed from Harlaw Road onto the internal road, Loco Works Road, and then through the car park of the existing Aldi supermarket. The site is generally flat. The site is not part of the existing car park, although it is adjacent to it and a proportion of the car parking spaces were to service the extant retail unit.”

Officer report

Earlier planning history

The site has an unimplemented retail permission, while a previous drive-through application was withdrawn and pre-application advice did not support a similar proposal.

“Relevant Planning History 2.14 The relevant planning history of the site is detailed below: APP/2025/1878 Advertisement Consent for Installation of Signage, Site adjacent to Aldi, Loco Works Road, Inverurie Granted 26 February 2026 APP/2022/1271 Full Planning Permission for Erection of Costa Drive Through Unit with Associated Access Route and Including Associated Car Parking, Site adjacent to Aldi, Loco Works Road, Inverurie Withdrawn 22.12.2022 ENQ/2024/1369 Pre-Application…”

“APP/2007/1967 Full Planning Permission for Erection of 2 Retail Units, Land Adjacent to Old Loco Works, Harlaw Road, Inverurie Granted 9 February 2011 Note this planning approval has been partly implemented with the construction of Aldi meaning the consent is extant and the remainder of the approval could be constructed. Supporting Information 2.15 A range of supporting information has been submitted with the application and is detailed below:”

Officer report

Why officers supported it

Officers considered the proposal an appropriate reuse of town-centre brownfield land that would support local living, town-centre vitality, employment and economic activity.

“Principle of development 6.2 The proposed site is a vacant brownfield site located within the defined Inverurie Town Centre and currently has no active use. Due to its location within the town centre, and the inclusion of a drive-through element, the principle of proposal will be assessed against NPF4 Policy 27 City, town, local and commercial centres and Policy 9 Brownfield, vacant and derelict land and empty buildings, as well as ALDP 2023 Policy B1 Town Centre Development…”

“This aligns with the intent of NPF4 Policy 9 Brownfield, vacant and derelict land and empty buildings which encourages the reuse of brownfield and vacant land. When considering the suitability of a site, certain town centre uses have particular market and locational requirements which mean they may only be accommodated in specific locations.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The agent and a planning representative addressed the committee about the site, parking, traffic, drive-through operation and deliveries.

Members discussed the proposal

Members questioned opening hours, traffic, parking, delivery times and policy departures, and expressed concerns about late operation and litter while welcoming the facility.

“Members sought clarification regarding opening hours, traffic modelling, parking arrangements, timing of deliveries and why Policies 14 and 15 were not also included within the departure reasons.”

“Members had some concerns about the later opening, delivery hours and litter management but otherwise welcomed the provision of a facility that would offer an alternative venue for people in the evening. They recognised that there would be a range of users accessing the site in a variety of ways, but that it was well located to the town centre.”

Minutes