Ikea lodges application for permanent pick-up lockers at Tesco Inshes site following success of Inverness collection initiative with Highland shoppers
Ikea fans in the Highlands could soon find it even easier to pick up their favourite Scandi-style furniture - after a planning application was lodged with Highland Council.
The world-famous brand is seeking to create a 'pick-up' lockers site within Tesco's Inshes car park.
It is part of a wider team-up with the supermarket retailer which has already seen Ikea set up more than 100 mobile pick-up points at Tesco stores across the UK.
Those have proven popular, with Ikea customers ordering online and then meeting a delivery van within a participating Tesco site to collect their order.
However, the popularity of the Tesco Inshes scheme, which has been running "a few months", has convinced Ikea to take the plunge and install permanent pick-up lockers - enabling round-the-clock collection of orders at a convenient time to suit the customer.
Ikea said the move to install the pick-up lockers in the Highland capital, comes amid "growing market demand" and "the popularity of online retail".
Although it is not a new Ikea store, the application is still likely to excite fans of the furniture giant in the north - with customers who travel to the central belt for their Ikea-fix having long campaigned for the Swedish company to open a shop in the Highlands.
The planned lockers storage may fall short of that, but a permanent pick-up site will still help some customers avoid a lengthy trip.
Explaining the reasoning for its application in a cover letter submitted alongside drawings of its proposals, Ikea's agents said: "In response to Ikea’s growing market demand and the popularity of online retail, Ikea has partnered with Tesco to allow Ikea orders to be collected from within Tesco car parks, creating a more accessible shopping experience for its customers.
"There has been a mobile pick-up point operating at the site for Ikea collections over recent months. The pick-up point has proved successful and the proposals aim to provide a permanent, secure and attractive service for customers."
They continued: "The lockers will be a contemporary design, with the colours consistent with the Ikea brand [of blue and yellow] to assist customers in identifying the location of the lockers. The differently sized lockers can accommodate a range of orders from home accessories and homewares to furniture."
If approved the block of lockers would extend 8.2 metres horizontally, and stand 2.4 metres tall, with Ikea signs and branding taking the total height to 3.1m.
The signs above the lockers will be lit at night..
The lockers would be located not far from the Tesco store's click-and-collect area at the northern end of the car park, and would result in the loss of around eight to 10 car parking bays.
Find out more about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal.
