Costa Coffee bids to overturn ruling on opening hours of new Fife drive through

PVY Ltd had sought to extend the hours of the coffee shop by two hours to 5am each day after having planning permission granted for a retail park on the town's Main Street, west of MacDonald Square in Halbeath.

While the retail park - which will also feature a Burger King and several shop units - can go ahead as planned, councillors on the Central and West Planning Committee had refused the 5am request because of fears it would disrupt people living nearby.

JJF Planning, agents for the Dunfermline based firm, has lodged appeal documents with the Scottish Government's planning appeals division in order to have the refusal overturned.

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Planning agent Joe Fitzpatrick has suggested that noise impact reports filed in support of the application have been favourably looked upon by planning officers on several occasions - and claims that noise from the units will not annoy residents.

"To offer a refusal of the current application for planning permission, despite such repeated and unequivocal advice, in the absence of any empirical evidence to the contrary as a basis for doing so, is considered to represent unreasonable behaviour," he wrote.

Mr Fitzpatrick is also seeking costs from Fife Council to cover what he called the "unnecessary expense" in appealing the refusal.

The planning appeals division has confirmed receipt of the appeal and will now seek a response from Fife Council. A ruling is expected by mid-March.

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