A HELENSBURGH petrol station is set for a £60,000 overhaul after a provisional premises licence was agreed by councillors.

Motor Fuel Limited has acquired operations at the Morrisons petrol station, which will close for a short spell at the end of the month to allow renovations to take place.

A bid to include alcohol as part of the new-look convenience store at the petrol station was considered by councillors this week, and unanimously agreed.

The renovation, and planned temporary closure, only applies to the petrol station, and not to the main Morrisons supermarket on Cardross Road.

The bid was heard by the Argyll and Bute licensing board, consisting of councillors from across the area, at its meeting on Tuesday, September 24.

Solicitor Andrew Hunter said: “My client has acquired the petrol station, which currently operates as a Morrisons petrol station.

“They have acquired all Morrisons sites across the UK and are in an exercise where, over the second half of 2024, they are overhauling the petrol station shops to become convenience stores.

“The company does not currently operate in Argyll and Bute, but if you are familiar with the Dumbarton area, they operate the Dunglass service station at Milton on the A82.

“They have also been granted a licence for the Morrisons at Dumbarton, and have about 100 licenced premises at the moment.

“The Helensburgh premises are planned to close on the last Sunday of September (September 29) and will undergo renovation, with the intention of the pumps being reopened in the middle of the week.

“The store is then due to reopen on Friday, October 4. It will probably have around £60,000 spent on it.

“The applicant wants to include a small provision of alcohol, and from discussions with the licensing standards officer, we worked out that it is five per cent of the floor space.”

Mr Hunter added: “Because the premises are a petrol station, it is necessary for the applicant to demonstrate that they do not fall within statutory exclusion.

“Included in the meeting papers is a market research report which was done in such a way to filter out local residents within one mile.

“The report confirms that 56 out of 90 respondents are reliant to the relevant extent.”

A report said that the applicant also included the home delivery of groceries, food and drinks, including alcohol, in the provisional licence bid.

Councillor Graham Hardie (Liberal Democrat, Helensburgh Central) sought clarity on how the home delivery process would work.

Mr Hunter said: “The delivery process is online, so customers would use Uber Eats or Just Eat and the time would depend on the availability of drivers

“Unless you are a driver who has been trained in alcohol deliveries, it is not possible to accept the order.”