Takeaway food unit approved for Telford park

Great Dawley Town Council will run the catering unit – including an accessible toilet with baby change facilities – in Dawley Park off George Street.

The town council states that the building will be open for seasonal hours and to coincide with its events in the park.

The applicant says the unit will also cater for a ‘small selection’ of sit-down diners, but mainly takeaway food and drinks.

“The intention is that the town council will serve warm and cold drinks, cakes and reheated food made off-site, therefore at this time no extraction equipment is provided,” say the town council in its planning statement.

“It will be open for seasonal hours, in the summer to fall in line with children coming out of school and community events such as Dawley Day, and winter opening hours will be shorter, but will be open for specific events for example Light Switch On.

“The café will be open longer hours during the summer months, IE four to five hours per day and closed more over the winter months.”

The town council states that the proposed catering unit will be ‘as waste-free as possible’. No bins are included in the plans with the expectation that any waste from cups will be disposed of in the bins provided.

Dawley resident Kerry Endsor objected to the plans amid fears that the building would be ‘unsightly’.

She said: “Dawley has ample places to eat, so where is the need for this? This proposal will simply increase littering and vandalism in the park.

“This park has been a part of Dawley tradition and adding an unsightly, profit-making venture will simply strip the beauty from this park. Please don’t deface this natural area with such an unnecessary and wasteful venture. Dawley needs many things but this is not one of them.”

Telford & Wrekin Council said that the design will include the use of timber cladding for the external walls.

“The local planning association consider this to be acceptable, creating an addition on the application site that is appropriate and in keeping with the character and appearance of the application site and surrounding area,” concluded the council’s planning officer.

“The proposal is considered to enhance the recreational value of the area in terms of the facilities being provided.

“[Planning] officers are therefore satisfied that the proposal would not have a detrimental impact on the green network and will enhance the existing public open space.”

The council states that if additional bins are ‘deemed necessary’ once the catering unit is up and running then a condition has been included to allow for details to be submitted for approval.

Telford & Wrekin Council has also included a condition that an anti-social behaviour survey is conducted at the commencement of the development and six months after it opens.

“If any recommendations are outlined through the outcome of this survey, these will have to be implemented in full,” the council’s planning officer added.

“Despite this, [planning] officers are satisfied that by virtue of the nature and scale of the proposal, the works are not likely to result in significantly detrimental impacts in terms of vandalism or anti-social behaviour.”