Wellington music venue's plans for community centre and food bank are approved

The former snooker hall in Tan Bank, Wellington, will still be used as a grassroots music venue and nightclub – but will also have other uses.

An arts centre already operates from the first floor of the venue, and a takeaway and cafe uses an outdoor cabin.

Applicant Frank Smith said a decrease in trade and income since Covid-19 meant that the venue needs to diversify further.

“Multiple night-time economy venues have closed across the town, this change in use is allowing new uses to provide revenue streams to ensure the grassroots music space within the site can be maintained and subsidised by income from other projects,” Mr Smith said.

“It is expected that the new uses at site will decrease the amount of licensable activity taking place at site with the premises being used for multiple new community uses instead.”

The approved plans include a community centre which can open 8am until midnight. The food bank and social supermarket can open 8am on Monday to Saturday and 10am on Sundays through until midnight.

As part of the proposals three offices would be created for private hire. A taxi company will be based at the building but not public-facing from the building.

The ground floor of the building will include a two-bedroom property for the ‘benefit’ of a disabled member of the management team and will include a disability access toilet and bathroom.

A Telford & Wrekin Council planning officer said there would be restrictions placed on the residential space.

While approving the plans they said: “Given proximity to the nightclub and music venue, and its lack of private amenity space, this is to be restricted such that its usage is an integral part and incidental to the further uses permitted within the property through this permission, and shall not at any time be occupied, let or sold as separate residential accommodation to ensure the link remains in place in the future.

“Given the broad authorised hours for existing uses, with consideration given to proposed hours for the additional uses balanced to the location of the development within a market town, the local planning authority are satisfied that the development will not derive additional antisocial behaviour.

“On balance, the local planning authority considers the proposals to be compliant with the Development Plan and national planning policy guidance.”

The proposals were objected to by Jacqui Harman, owner of neighbouring business Hair Art, who raised concerns about an increased demand on a shared drainage system and trespassers climbing over their boundary wall separating them from the venue.

Haygate & Park borough councillors Graham Cook and Paul Davis asked for the council’s planning committee to decide the outcome.

The councillors said that the current drainage system is ‘inadequate’ and that there had been a ‘number of complaints’ from residents.

In response the council’s planning officer concluded: “The existing drainage has been raised within neighbour and ward member representation as a concern.

“In this context, where the drain is getting blocked through potential misuse this is outside the control of the local planning authority, and where this is a shared foul drain then this is anticipated to belong to Severn Trent Water to maintain, with no concern raised by the drainage authority through the proposal.”