2 days ago
Former sailor behind Inverkip takeaway bid reveals more detail as plans approved
A FORMER Merchant Navy sailor behind plans for a new takeaway in Inverkip says he hopes to have the business up and running by the start of the winter.
Scott Ure spoke to the Telegraph after his planning application was approved by Inverclyde councillors – having initially been turned down by local authority officials.
Mr Ure, 62, plans to use a refurbished shipping container as a hot food outlet, complete with off-grid electrical system, at the layby on the A78 at the south end of the village.
His proposals were turned down by Inverclyde Council's planning department in December – but that decision was overturned by elected councillors on the authority's local review body (LRB) last week after Mr Ure submitted an appeal.
Scott Ure's plans for a hot food takeaway at the car park on the A78 at the south end of Inverkip were approved on appeal. (Image: Google Street View) The Wemyss Bay resident said: "I am pleased that it was approved in the end. I walk up and down from Wemyss Bay to the marina quite often and there is nowhere to go for a coffee
"Cafe Riva [at nearby Kip Marina] closes in the winter, but a lot of people in the area do cold water swimming, scuba diving and paddle boarding."
He said that among the reasons cited by Inverclyde Council's planning department for initially refusing planning permission was that there wasn't good access to the site.
Mr Ure told the Telegraph: "There is a really good bus service to Inverkip. There has been a lot of chat on social media about it.
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"I will be selling teas, coffees, soup and wraps. It's not going to be a fast food takeaway. It will be healthy options."
He said it should take three to four weeks for the final documents confirming planning approval to come through, and another three months for the container to be ordered, delivered and fitted out.
Mr Ure, who has lived in Wemyss Bay for 15 years, said: "I hope to open at the end of the autumn. The layby is part of the old road and I believe there used to be a cafe on the old road."
The venture is also a departure from Mr Ure's previous career working at sea.
Scott Ure formerly worked in the Merchant Navy and as an offshore engineer. (Image: Contributed) He said: "I've worked on various types of ships, including passenger ships and ferries, and offshore, in engineering.
"This is a semi-retirement venture for me to see how it goes. I'm looking forward to it.
'I'm not going to turn it into a Costa or Starbucks, but to provide a service to people in the area."
Mr Ure's application was rejected in December after council officers said it clashed with green belt policies.
The site is currently home to a car park, public toilets and the Inverkip war memorial. (Image: Google Street View) He appealed to the Local Review Body (LRB) last month but councillors opted to delay a final decision in order to find out whether permission could be granted on a temporary basis.
Planners suggested two conditions – though neither related to the green belt concerns that led planners to turn down the application.
At last week's LRB meeting, Councillor John Crowther said the site should be regarded as 'brown field' as it is close to a public toilet and car park.
Cllr Crowther said: "My only concern is the site's close proximity to the war memorial. On Remembrance Sunday we have a commemoration at the memorial. I wonder if we could have a condition that the business should close while the commemoration is ongoing, but not for the whole day.'
Councillor John Crowther said he supported the plans - but asked if the business would be willing not to operate during the Remembrance Sunday commemoration at the nearby war memorial. The LRB's chair, Councillor Tommy McVey, said he would be happy to have a discussion with Mr Ure about the Remembrance Sunday event without having to make it a condition of planning approval.
Councillor Crowther said: "I would be quite happy to go down that avenue, so we could proceed and make a decision today."
Councillor Stephen McCabe who previously said he did not support the view of planners that the site was greenbelt and couldn't support their reasons for refusal.
Addressing the Remembrance Sunday issue raised by Cllr Crowther, Mr Ure told the Telegraph: "Generations of my family were in the Merchant Navy. I will probably be at the memorial for the Remembrance Sunday commemorations myself.'
