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Offers considered for site of former health centre after Starbucks plans thrown out

By Charlotte Thomson

August 13 2021, 4:00 pm

Inverurie Health Centre has been demolished.

Offers are being considered for the sale of the site of a former health centre.

The old Inverurie Health Centre closed down in 2018 with all GP services moving to the community hospital.

Now the derelict building on Constitution Street has been torn down by a demolition firm ahead of the sale.

NHS Grampian has confirmed there’s been interest in the town centre site.

But the future of the site remains a mystery as the health board gave no further details.

‘We are considering the offers’

A spokeswoman said: “We are considering the offers we have received and cannot comment further at present.”

Inverurie Health Centre has been turned into a pile of rubble after the building was demolished.

At a recent meeting, the health board gave the go-ahead for NHS Grampian’s director of finance to complete the sale.

‘Plans for a Starbucks drive-thru rejected’

The one acre site had been advertised as a development opportunity suitable for a “variety of uses” when it went up for sale.

Plans were previously submitted to Aberdeenshire Council with proposals to turn it into four retail units with a drive-thru coffee shop.

West Coast Estates submitted the plans in November 2019.

But planning permission was refused following dozens of complaints from local residents concerned about the volume of traffic travelling in the area.

‘The big plan would be to have retail units’

The developers appealed against the decision but the appeal was rejected earlier this year.

Councillor Marion Ewenson, who represents Inverurie and District, said: “The big plan would be to have some form of retail units and accommodation above but it will entirely depend on what the market is and who purchases the site from NHS Grampian.

“The idea of a drive-thru facility there was just unacceptable to residents and ourselves in Inverurie because it is such a busy place and it was not what was needed there.

Aberdeenshire councillor Marion Ewenson would like to see retail units.

“It would be good to see it developed and tidied up and have something thriving on that site, but it just depends what there’s a market for.

“It would be great to have retail units, but is there really going to be a market for retail units now? It will be interesting to see what sort of offers they get and what plans come forward.”

‘Town centre congestion needs to be addressed’

Aberdeenshire Council rejected the previous planning application on the grounds that the proposed drive-thru would have encouraged more cars into the town centre.

The council report stated: “The proposal does not provide an appropriate mix of uses within the town centre and will actively encourage private car use.

“It is also contrary to the Inverurie and Port Elphinstone Settlement Statement which requires any redevelopment proposal for this site to incorporate significant retail provision at ground floor level and recognises a need to address town centre congestion.”