New Preston takeaway gets school day ban as locals claim the venture is ‘inappropriate’

Preston City Council planning officers have given the go-ahead to the conversion of an existing retail unit on the corner of Lytham Road and Brackenbury Road in Fulwood The premises were previously home to a sandwich shop, but are currently being used to sell e-cigarettes and liquids.

The proposal attracted a dozen objections from locals, some of whom warned that it would be harmful to health - and claimed that it was “inappropriate and [would] negatively impact the area”. However, five letters of support were received backing the new venture and the additional residential space it would also provide as part of the plans.

The council’s planning policies mean that takeaway opening hours must be restricted if the business is based within 400 metres of a secondary school. Moorbrook School falls within that distance, meaning that the new business cannot open until 5pm on weekdays, after the time at which it is expected pupils will have travelled home.

The takeaway can then trade until 11pm on weekdays and is permitted to operate between 11am and 11pm at weekends and on Bank Holiday Mondays.

Outlining their decision, city council planners said that the proposal could have “a positive impact” on the city centre by removing the general retail uses currently allowed at the Fulwood address and potentially diverting that trade into town.

The plans include a two-storey rear extension and applicant Mua Ventures Ltd. also proposed the creation of one self-contained flat on the ground floor of the premises and another following the conversion of a rear garage. An existing first-floor will also remain.

Some of the objectors described that layout as an overconcentration of the site, but planning officers concluded that it would not result in an overly intensive use of the plot.

“The application site is …considered large enough to accommodate the proposed total of three residential units and these would also be located within an existing residential area,” the decision report noted.