Report of Handling

	Application for Planning Permission 15/01184/FUL
At 3 Brighton Place, Edinburgh, EH15 1LH
Use of premises as hot food takeaway (sui generis).
	
	Item 	Local Delegated Decision		
	Application number	15/01184/FUL		

	Wards	A17 - Portobello/Craigmillar	

Summary

The proposal fails to comply with policy Hou8 - Inappropriate Uses in Residential Areas and non-statutory guidelines on Food and Drink Establishments, as the proposal would create an over-concentration of potentially bad neighbour uses in relation to existing residential property. It is also noted that, even were the use acceptable in principle, the applicant has failed to demonstrate adequate ventilation or noise attenuation to existing residential properties.

Links
Policies and guidance for this application	LPC, CITR10, CITR12, 	

Report of handling

Recommendations
1.1 It is recommended that this application be Refused for the reasons below.
Background
2.1 Site description

The property is a ground floor shop unit within a row of shops projecting forward from a three storey mid-19th century tenement.

It is flanked by a public house to the north and takeaway pizzeria to the south.

This application site is located within the Portobello Conservation Area.

2.2 Site History

There is no relevant planning history for this site.

Main report
3.1 Description Of The Proposal

The application proposes change of use from Class 1 retail to a hot food takeaway.

No external alterations are proposed.

3.2	Determining Issues

Do the proposals harm the character or appearance of the conservation area? If they do, there is a strong presumption against granting of permission.

Do the proposals comply with the development plan?

If the proposals do comply with the development plan, are there any compelling reasons for not approving them?

If the proposals do not comply with the development plan, are there any compelling reasons for approving them?

3.3 Assessment
To address these determining issues, it needs to be considered whether:

a) the loss of the existing Class 1 function is acceptable

b) the proposed hot-food takeaway use is acceptable in principle

c) residential amenity would be safeguarded

a) Policy Ret10 considers alternative uses for retail units with defined town centres, such as Portobello.

This firstly requires that no more than four consecutive non-retail units are created. 

Brighton Place retains two class 1 units in its centre (over and above the application site). It is noted that (following appeal decisions) amalgamated units should be counted as two units not one in calculations. If the application site is lost to Class 1 use, it groups together with an existing hot-food takeaway and a wide public house unit. Whilst visually the public house is a double (if not triple) unit, there is no evidence that this unit was ever previously subdivided. Therefore, whilst visually the alteration would create four units in a row,statistically it must be counted as only three. The proposal therefore meets the wording of this part of policy Ret10.

Policy Ret10 secondly requires that a proposed use contributes to the vitality of the shopping area. Recent consents, such as that at the adjacent unit at 7 Brighton Place, accept a hot food takeaway as a use contributing to the vitality of a shopping centre. This section of the policy is also met.

The loss of the existing retail function is therefore acceptable.

b) Policies Hou8 and Ret12 consider the acceptability of food and drink establishments in relation to existing residential property.

A critical factor in this assessment is "over-concentration". If permitted, this small section of Brighton Place would contain a large pub, two hot food takeaways and a triple frontage restaurant. This would total over half of the frontage and would dominate this section.

There is no definition of "over-concentration" in policy, but it is considered that this change would then represent an overconcentration, to the detriment of residential amenity.

The application is refused for this reason.

c) Over and above the issue of principle, there are serious concerns regarding the ability to ventilate the property.

Whilst the application illustrates two flues linking to two sets of chimneys the chimneys illustrated are not physically connected to the property and appear to already serve properties to the south.

The applicant was invited to rectify this but no amended drawings have been received. In addition, ventilation calculations, and confirmation that existing flues were requested, together with a Noise Impact Assessment. None of these have been received.

Acceptance of a hot food takeaway use, without verification that correct ventilation is possible, exposes the Council to claims of maladministration and increases the likelihood of a secondary application at a later date for external ventilation to address any shortfall.

For all the above reasons the application is considered to be unacceptable.

It is recommended that this application be Refused for the reasons below.

3.4	Conditions/reasons/informatives

Reasons:-

1.	The proposal is contrary to Edinburgh City Local Plan Policy Hou 8 in respect of Inappropriate Uses in Residential Areas, as the addition of a further hot-food takeaway would represent an overconcentration of such uses, detrimental to amenity.

2.	The proposal is contrary to Edinburgh City Local Plan Policy Ret 12 in respect of Food and Drink Establishments, as given the existing uses on Brighton Place a further hot-foodtakeaway represents an overconcentration of such uses.

3.	The applicant has failed to demonstrate adequate or viable ventilation to the property, and has not demonstrated that the proposal would cause no noise nuisance to neighbours.

Risk, Policy, compliance and governance impact
4.1 Provided planning applications are determined in accordance with statutory legislation, the level of risk is low.
Equalities impact
5.1 The equalities impact has been assessed as follows:

The application has been assessed and has no impact in terms of equalities or human rights.

Consultation and engagement
6.1 Pre-Application Process

There is no pre-application process history.

6.2 Publicity summary of representations and Community Council comments

The application was advertised on 27 March 2015.

One objection was received from a neighbour highlighting that the illustrated vents did not actually connect to the illustrated chimneys.
Background reading / external references
•	To view details of the application go to 
•	Planning and Building Standards online services

ort of handling

	Statutory Development
Plan Provision	
	
	Date registered	17 March 2015

	Drawing numbers/Scheme	1,2

Scheme 1
	
David R. Leslie
Acting Head of Planning and Building Standards

Contact: Stephen Dickson, Senior planning officer 
E-mail:stephen.dickson@edinburgh.gov.uk Tel:0131 529 3529

Links - Policies
Relevant Policies:

Relevant policies of the Edinburgh City Local Plan.

Policy Ret 10 (Alternative Use of Shop Units – Elsewhere in Defined Centres) sets criteria for assessing the change of use of a shop unit to a non-shop use in defined centres (excluding core and primary frontages).

Policy Ret 12 (Food and Drink Establishments) sets criteria for assessing the change of use to a food & drink establishment.

Appendix 1

Consultations

Environmental Assessment

No response.

END