Village takeaway plan rejected for being too close to schools

Wakefield Council rejected the application to convert a hair salon in Wrenthorpe into a fast food business despite more than 120 residents being in favour of the scheme.

The local authority said the site falls within a ‘hot food takeaway exclusion area’.

The policy was adopted in January this year when the council approved a new Local Plan – a legal document that sets out a framework for development in the district.

Under the new guidelines, takeaways located within 400m of a secondary school will not be supported unless they are in a town centre.

A report says: “The site is situated on Wrenthorpe Lane and is within a 400m radius of Wrenthorpe Academy School and Silcoates School.

“As such, it is considered that the proposal for a new hot food takeaway cannot be accepted as it would be contrary to policy.”

The council’s highways officer also objected to the scheme over concerns that increased traffic from customers and delivery drivers would “intensify” the use of the site.

The proposed opening hours of the business were 11am to 10.30pm.

The plan received 122 letters of support from residents in a favour of the scheme.

Many said the new business was needed as there were not enough takeaways in the area.

One supporter said: “I live over the road and I am in complete support of the application.

“Since the closure of the fish shop it has left local people without any form of takeaway foods in the area.

“This idea would benefit the community. With a lot of older people living in Wrenthorpe it would give them easy access to food.”

The scheme attracted 18 objections.

Concerns were raised over a lack of parking at the site, smells coming from the new business and the potential for an increase in anti-social behaviour.

Others claimed a takeaway was not needed in the village as there were plenty of online delivery options.

The council said it was committed to improving the health of the district’s residents when it introduced the takeaway exclusion area earlier this year.

The local authority said the planning process is able to “influence choices over diet”.

The Local Plan document states: “Children of all ages who eat more than two takeaways a week are also less likely to eat fruit and vegetables frequently and more likely to drink fizzy beverages, crisps and sweets/chocolate.

“Most secondary school pupils would like to eat a healthier diet but are less likely to if they eat takeaways on two or more days a week.”