A north-east petrol station will now be able to sell booze despite opposition from health bosses.
The Gulf Aberdeen Airport petrol station was yesterday given permission to stock alcohol by Aberdeen’s licensing board.
Certas Energy, who run the Argyll Road site, currently operate a Londis convenience store adjacent to the filling station.
Under Scottish Government legislation, a garage can sell alcohol if it serves “more than a handful” of nearby residents who are reliant on the facility for their groceries or fuel.
The company had previously put forward an application for a provisional premises license, but the board had called for a survey to be prepared to determine whether the proposal met the requirements of the legislation.
At yesterday’s meeting, an NHS representative argued against the application on the grounds it could potentially harm public health.
The health board also dismissed the research report – carried out by Taylor McKenzie Research and Marketing on behalf of Certas Energy – claiming it did not justify alcohol provision.
Questions were also raised over the method used to carry out the survey after the researchers expanded their definition of the local area from under one-and-a-half miles to under 10 miles.
And Dyce and Stoneywood Community Council also objected to the plan, amid claims it would encourage drink-driving, crime, and increase anti-social behaviour at the airport.
Community council secretary Bill Harrison told the board: “Extending the survey to include the local residents who live within 10 miles of the station may be appropriate for the Western Isles, but it’s absurd for an urban area like Aberdeen.”
But Centras’ legal representative argued that the research report met the requirements of the legislation criteria.
He said the survey team had extended the definition of the local area in order to have enough people to carry out a representative study.
And he argued there was no proof to back up either the NHS or the community council’s claims.
Meanwhile, the board also granted Joe’s Coffee House, in the airport, a premises license.
The facility will now be able to serve drink and act as an off-license.