Retail & Leisure
Spinners Fisheries
REQUIREMENTS
Planning approval for a fish and chip takeaway and restaurant.
Building regulations, the transfer of the alcohol licence and premises address numbering were also specified as part of the brief.
MWA, working on behalf of the client, had to disprove the planning policy.
INSIGHTS
In the case of Spinners Fisheries, it was more than obtaining planning approval.
The building that Sofia and Simon purchased needed extensive renovation. Over the years, it had many uses, but most recently it was a pub.
So, even though the building had been vacant for some time, was run down, had become an eyesore and was a hub for anti-social activity, the loss of the public house as a community asset was reason not to permit planning.
OUTCOME
To challenge the loss of the public house as a community asset, the team carried out sequential tests.
These tests demonstrated that no other premises were suitable for a fish and chip takeaway and restaurant within an agreed radius.
This proved successful and allowed planning approval to be secured.
CHALLENGES
The planning process required planning policy to be disproved.
The planning process, which can be timely as standard, took longer due to the global pandemic.
Planning was imperative to maintaining timescales, national restrictions were causing delays, and the client was keen to open quickly but safely.
Spinners Fisheries is a great example of how a building can work harder – not just for a business and individuals but also the wider community.
A BUILDING THAT WORKS HARDER
By quickly and efficiently securing planning permission, the tight timescale set by the Mirfield couple was maintained.
Within six months of purchase, the establishment had been fully renovated and was open to the public.
A home for a new venture was created, which also accommodated growth with the new restaurant.
All services delivered remotely, and constant cooperation with the client, led to seamless planning approval, building regulations and licenses.
A vacant, run-down building that had become a hub for anti-social activity has been transformed into a popular and welcoming takeaway and restaurant that locals are proud of and which has settled into the heart of the community.
Owners, Sofia and Simon Render, had the vision to see beyond the shell of a disused pub and instead identify with a building that sat at the heart of a community. They remodeled extensively and drove forward their ambitious plans, despite the challenges faced by a global pandemic and planning policies.”
Gerald Sharp
Senior Technician
Planning support is just one of the services that we offer here at MWA, and whilst some people may not think it’s the most exciting aspect of our work, it is the foundations for innovation and development.
The building is unrecognisable – inside and out! We are so pleased to have played a small (but critical) role in this venture and to have had the opportunity to prove that ‘when the chips are down’, you can rely on MWA.”
Gerald Sharp
Senior Technician
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