A CAFÉ has opened without planning permission at Warrington – but planning consultants are urging planners to allow it to continue trading because it is an improvement on what was there before.
The property is a two-storey end of terrace unit in Priory Street which has been used as a hot-food takeaway for some years.
But since the middle of the year it has been operated by the Reunion Kart Noodles Company as a café, opening from 8am to 6pm – without planning consent.
The application only seeks permission for a change of use as there is existing extraction/ventilation equipment installed at the premises associated with the previous takeaway which is still being utilised. No other external alterations are proposed.
Consultants representing the applicants say the café is likely to have a lesser adverse impact on the neighbourhood than the previous use.
Many of the issues associated with a hot food takeaway use such as late-night noise and disturbance and litter will no longer exist. The takeaway has no restrictions on hours of use so could stay open into the early hours with impunity under.
The change of use would give the council an opportunity to exercise a degree of control over the opening hours which it is currently unable to. The café will provide a meeting hub for the local community, improve the daytime economy of the area and create opportunities for local employment.
Café use of the property will be less detrimental to the amenities of the area, the consultants argue.
