Posted by 
A Chorley village tearoom has been told it can start serving customers outside – 15 years after it first applied for permission to do so.
Chorley Council’s planning committee has given the go-ahead to a 12-month trial to allow The Cottage Tea Room, in Brinscall, to use an outdoor seating area which has been off limits since the business opened.
An attempt, soon after, to expand into the rear yard of the School Lane premises was rejected by the borough authority – because of concerns about the potential impact on neighbouring residents.
However, planning committee members have now given the go-ahead to the proposal – on a temporary basis – to see whether it causes any of the issues initially feared.
The meeting at which the decision was made heard from Chorley MP and Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle – via a letter read out by the committee chair – in which he asked councillors to “look favourably” on the fresh expansion bid.
The operator of the venue, Robin Bamford, said Sir Lindsay was “a regular visitor to the tearoom and someone who, crucially, knows the history of the previous applications”.
Council planning officers had recommended councillors maintain a block on use of the outdoor area, but Mr. Bamford said it was “completely unreasonable” to suggest nothing had changed over the past 15 years.
He said neighbours who had previously objected had now left the area – and one of those who had moved in had written to the council to show their active support for the plans. That was one of 26 expressions of support, alongside three objections.
Mr. Bamford told the committee that other tearooms in the vicinity had been granted similar requests to the one he was making – and that he just wanted his business to be treated “in exactly the same manner”.
He added: “This is a much-loved village cafe, established for over 16 years, providing a welcome service and much-needed employment to the community.
“Should we be granted [permission], the outdoor area would only be used on those very rare occasions we get sunshine – this is Brinscall,” he joked.
Suggesting temporary approval be granted for the next year, deputy committee chair Alex Hilton said it would allow any impact on locals to be assessed, ahead of a further application at that time to make the change permanent.
Several of his colleagues described the proposal as “a good compromise”, including Cllr Alistair Morwood – although he cautioned: “It’s all very well neighbours saying [they] don’t object, but they’ve never actually had 12 months of possible noise and parking issues.”
