Plans for new restaurant and bar in Blackpool hit stumbling block
Proposals to open a new restaurant and bar in Blackpool have fallen foul of planning procedures.
The applicants, under the name Melanie Grimster, wanted to open the restaurant, grill and bar at the former Topps Tiles premises on Waterloo Road, which more recently was used as a unisex salon called the Beauty Club before it closed.
The distinctive black building is currently empty.
The applicants applied to Blackpool Council for a certificate of lawfulness which, if granted, would effectively mean planning permission would not be needed, as the plans would not constitute a change of use otherwise known as ‘development’.
The agents argued that the former retail usage already allowed at the empty site, and a potential takeaway aspect to the restaurant, would mean they fell within the same planning class and wouldn't require ‘change of use’ status.
However, the planning officer concluded that the wording of the application didn’t offer sufficient grounds for the certificate of lawfulness, and the application was refused this week.
In recommending refusal, the planning officer stated: “When all of the factors discussed in this report are taken into account, the overall conclusion is that the proposed use would represent a change of the use of the property from a Class E use to a mixed, sui generis use, and that the applicant has provided no evidence to demonstrate or means to ensure that this change would not be material.
“It would, therefore, be development. As no permission for this change is granted through the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), the use requires express planning permission.
“On this basis, a Certificate of Lawfulness must be refused. “