Work to demolish an Aberdeen office that has lain vacant for almost two years is underway after development and investment firm West Coast Estates secured planning permission to transform it into a drive-thru Costa Coffee.

Situated in Tullos, on the corner of Abbotswell Road and Wellington Road, it will be the first Costa Coffee drive-thru in the North-east of Scotland and the retailer’s seventh similar outlet in Scotland.

Aberdeen City Council’s planning department granted permission after reviewing a revised proposal from the Aberdeen-based developer. The new version of the scheme has won widespread backing from the local community with more than 400 letters of support.

Iftikar Mian, director of West Coast Estates, said: “We are excited to be able to start work on this project which will breathe new life into a redundant office site and provide businesses with much needed convenient amenities on their doorstep. More than that though, it will generate new jobs and provide a modern destination for people in the community to meet and socialise.

“We are grateful to Aberdeen City Council for their pragmatic approach to the scheme and feel privileged to have been able to work closely with the local community in shaping the development. We are committed to delivering projects that will provide a clear benefit to the communities in which they are located and this is a great example of just that.”

Also providing seating for up to 94 people and parking for 34 cars, the £2 million development will be Aberdeen’s largest Costa Coffee outlet and is expected to create a total of 20 jobs.

Paul Richardson, acquisition surveyor at Ryden, saw the potential of the site and worked with West Coast Estates to develop the proposal.

He said: “There are lots of sites across Aberdeen that with a bit of imagination and effort could be regenerated. This was a challenging site for several reasons but by working in partnership with West Coast Estates and the local community we now have a development that will rejuvenate the site and will add an excellent amenity to Tullos and the south side of Aberdeen.”

West Coast Estates is an opportunities-focused firm with a development pipeline of £25m. It is continually assessing potential sites and works with surveyors and building firms spanning the length of Scotland.