Decision next week on whether Smokies Grill Hut can stay at Longton's Red Lion pub

The fate of a popular takeaway will be decided next week.

Smokies Grill Hut reopened on the car park of Longton's Red Lion pub in November, after a two-month hiatus. At that time, Aaron Millar, who runs Smokies with Sam Carroll, said: “We’re so happy to be back, we’ve missed it. "We’ve got a bigger van, so we’re able to employ an extra person, and that means we can get through more orders.

Read more about the reopening here

The grill is loved for it's range of 'dirty' fries and burgers, with social media stars visiting to post rave reviews.

This is what one food reviewer made of his visit to Smokies

But it turns out that management at Smokies nor the pub had sought official council permission to use the land for a food truck, and now they're seeking a retrospective change of use, and permission for two chilled storage cabinets and two storage cabins located north of the truck.

South Ribble Borough Council's planning committee will make the final decision at a meeting on February 1. Officers have recommended approval, subject to condtions being met.

What do neighbours think?

A site notice has been posted, and seven neighbouring properties were consulted. This has resulted in three letters of support and no objections.

When considering the truck's proximity to residential properties, officers state: "Retention of the truck is unlikely to negatively impact on the amenities of these residents" and "the truck would only be visible to a handful of properties outside of the site boundaries. In visual terms therefore, there would be limited impact upon the character and appearance of the area."

Considerations

Environmental Health has recommend conditions to restrict hours of operation, and pre-use approval of an odour extraction system. Officers said: "As the business is already in use without the benefit of planning permission, a condition requiring this information to be provided within two months is considered reasonable."

The proposed use of the truck is from 4pm to 9pm, Wednesday to Sunday.