Scottish developers Sandy and James Easdale have had plans approved for a new £2 million drive-thru for land located beside the main A8 route into Port Glasgow.

Inverclyde Council’s Planning Board has approved the proposal for the former Port Glasgow Job Centre which closed in 2017 and has lain vacant since.

The proposed development is located adjacent to the Gallagher Retail Park and will replace the former Department of Work and Pensions building with access from the corner of Scarlow Street and Greenock Road.

It is expected the development will create a mixture of 40 to 50 full and part-time jobs, in a welcome employment boost to the local Inverclyde economy.

The development plans were submitted by Dalglen Investments, owned by Sandy and James Easdale, who purchased the 0.75-acre site in 2020.

Their plans were supported by ICC members Rebecchi Architectural and Bowman Rebecchi, who support the Dalglen1810 portfolio.

Bowman Rebecchi is in discussions with several national businesses, all of whom have shown an interest in the proposed development subject to planning consent being gained, with another marquee name now expected to be attracted to Inverclyde.

Sandy Easdale said: “We are delighted that the new drive-thru proposal has now been approved by Inverclyde Council following the original application in June 2022.

“We believe this site can act as a critical ‘bridge’ between the traditional town centre and the retail park while offering welcome employment opportunities to locals.

“We’ve already had strong interest from several national retailers and expect to be able to progress these plans further having secured consent.”

In February 2023, plans were revealed for Greggs to take over another Easdale drive-thru in Greenock, securing a £1.5m investment into a long-term vacant site in the Cartsburn area.

Earlier this month, the brothers were also successful with their bid to increase the number of houses at the 70-acre former IBM site in Greenock to 450 units, securing a major £250m investment for Inverclyde’s residential and construction markets.

James Easdale added: “It goes without saying that we remain committed to Inverclyde, with our unprecedented projects and proposed private investment supporting the ongoing regeneration of long-term vacant sites.

“We view Inverclyde as an area offering great opportunities and look forward to continuing with our aims to generate further employment, investment, and repopulation into the area.”

Sandy and James Easdale were named on The Sunday Times Rich List in 2022, placing eighth in Scotland after amassing a fortune of £1.363 billion.

They have developed their vast wealth based on their portfolio of property, manufacturing, and transport acquisitions across Scotland.

For more information on the Port Glasgow site, please click here.