Lancashire hospice cafe becomes so popular, it needs an extension to cope with demand
A cafe in the grounds of a Lancashire hospice is so popular, bosses have applied to make it bigger.
St Catherine’s Hospice in Lostock Hall opened The Mill in November 2014 as a social enterprise, with all the profits going directly to the hospice. It has it’s own blend of coffee and a permanent live music and alcohol licence, meaning the venue and its grounds can be used for the likes of wedding anniversary or birthday celebrations.
Such is the demand, that bosses at St Catherine’s applied for permission to build a single-storey extension to the rear of kitchen, following removal of a storage container and shed.
A report by South Ribble Borough Council’s planning officers stated: “The Mill is a major funding resource for the hospice employing over 40 people, but has become so popular that there are waiting lists for tables, and despite previous extensions it has reached capacity. Extension of the kitchen would allow the Mill to work at maximum capacity, and to provide for in house catering of larger events in other parts of the hospice facility.”
The flat-roofed extension would be to the northern side rear elevation within a walled yard. Its footprint would be 6.3m deep x 13.5m wide providing for an additional 76.4m² of floor space. Windows and a single door are proposed on the rear and southern side elevations, but the rear would face existing fencing, whilst the side would be screened by fencing and storage bins. The report states that the extension would not be visible above the rear fence or from the front of the Mill and would be “relatively low key”.
Approving the extension, officer Debbie Roberts said: “As it would be based on existing hardstanding, the proposal is considered acceptable in design terms as detailed by Local Plan Policy G17. The needs of the Hospice community far outweigh the need to retain a fairly small piece of previously developed land – particularly as the principle of development on this completely screened yard has already been established - and given the small scale of the proposed development, it is not envisaged that there will be any negative effect on the openness and amenity value of the area.”
The Mill is a converted 1800s barn on the site that was once part of Lostock Fold Farm. The name ‘The Mill’ is said to come from a belief that the farm was built on the site of a cotton mill and the barn could have been made of stone from that mill.