A planning application has been submitted to create a new drive-thru coffee shop at the site of a new-build Lanarkshire supermarket which will open later this year.
The building is proposed for the site at Carlisle Road in Airdrie currently being developed by Lidl, with the restaurant being one of two additional retail premises which were given approval in principle as part of last year’s successful application for the food store.
Official documents submitted to North Lanarkshire Council describe the new premises as a Starbucks branch and its logo appears on application statements, site plans and artists’ impressions of the development; although the company says it currently has “no updates to share about plans in Airdrie”.
The application for full permission for the 235 square-metre coffee shop outlines that it would be built at the part of the site closest to Craigneuk Avenue, on the opposite side of the former warehouse site to the under-construction Lidl branch.
It would be open from 6am to 10pm each day and have 30 parking spaces plus two electric vehicle charging points; while new landscape planting is proposed for the site corner at the junction of Craigneuk Avenue and Carlisle Road.
A Starbucks spokesperson told Lanarkshire Live: “We are always looking for new locations and opportunities to bring the Starbucks experience to customers in the UK, but at this time we have no updates to share about plans in Airdrie.”
Planning and transport documents submitted as part of the application both refer to the intended operator by name, with the former noting: “In addition to its social function, coffee houses like Starbucks are increasingly becoming spaces where customers hold meetings, interviews, and business lunches.
“Starbucks acknowledge the relationship between coffee houses and the business community, encouraging customers to linger in their stores by providing free wifi along with additional plug points for laptops and hand-held devices.”
The transport statement adds: “The drive-thru unit will have segregated parking accessible via a priority junction on the northern side of the main spine road; the Starbucks unit will be serviced outwith opening times to ensure that any potential for customer and service vehicle conflict is removed.”
Lidl began construction work at the former distillery warehousing site last month and plan to open the new supermarket, their seventh in North Lanarkshire, later this year.
Forty jobs are to be created at the store, with plans for the store and two adjacent retail units gaining unanimous approval when they went before councillors in January 2021.
The site, beside Airdrieonians’ home ground, became vacant when former owner Distell International moved to state-of-the-art new premises in East Kilbride, with the historic warehouses being demolished at the start of this year.