A NEW £4.7m drive-through coffee shop and office block will be built in Greenock if councillors approve a recommendation by planners.

Council officials say that members of the planning board should give the green light for a new Starbucks and a two-storey office at Cartsdyke Avenue, close to the A8 roundabout at McDonald's.

A design statement submitted on behalf of developer LGO LTD says that the coffee shop would require around 20 to 30 staff, with roughly half of them full-time, while the office block would have space to accommodate 100 employees.

The developers describe the proposed coffee shop as an 'attractive modern facility' that will 'support both existing and future businesses, as well as tourists and local residents'.

The plans include parking for both the office building and coffee shop, with 12 electric vehicle charging points.

Some existing trees and the hedge around the site's perimeter would be removed and re-planting would be carried out.

The Starbucks would be open 6am to 10pm, seven days a week.

A previous attempt to obtain planning permission for the drive-through coffee shop was turned down back in 2018.

Inverclyde Council said then it would contravene its Local Development Plan, which states that the site is intended for only certain business and industrial uses.

Planners also cited the 'detrimental impact' it could have on the existing landscaping, but Starbucks chiefs pointed out that land had been marketed 'by multiple parties over a period of at least five years with no interest and/or offers being received for these uses'.

But now an official report from officers has recommended that the new application should be granted permission, subject to conditions.

Despite the proposed development not being fully in line with aspects of the council's development plan, council officers believe there are grounds to justify a departure from the policy.

Their report says that while the proposed drive-thru is located within the Strategic Economic Investment Location (SEIL) at the site, the coffee shop would not adversely impact the function or operation of the surrounding and adjacent areas.

Council officers say the development would remove a 'comparatively neglected, vacant site' in a prominent location.

It is also stated that the development would bring employment locally and contribute positively to the local economy, supporting Inverclyde's recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Councillors will have the final say on the application at a meeting on April 6.