Maremonti Restaurant in Paisley has been granted planning permission by Renfrewshire Council to expand into the adjoining unit on Glasgow Road, formerly home to a grocers.
The local authority's decision, subject to conditions, allows the proposed project to move forward. The application covers two adjoining units: Unit A, which houses the existing restaurant, and Unit B, currently vacant.
Expansion details
Under the plans, the restaurant will expand from Unit A into Unit B by partially removing the dividing partition wall. Externally, two existing glazed entrance doors on the front of Unit A would be fixed shut, with an opaque film added to a height of 0.9 metres across the full width of its glazed frontage.
On Unit B, a centrally positioned recessed entrance door would be removed and replaced with glazing, with a new side-facing entrance door formed on one side of the existing recess. The two properties sit in a parade of four commercial units on the south side of Glasgow Road.
Council assessment
In its report of handling, the council stated: "Planning permission is sought for a change of use of a former grocers (Class 1A) at Glasgow Road, Paisley, to form an extension and enlargement of an adjoining restaurant (Class 3), together with associated external alterations to the building frontage."
In its assessment, the council noted: "The principle of a restaurant has previously been accepted and the primary consideration is whether its expansion over a larger footprint would raise any unacceptable issues." It observed a range of small and medium sized commercial uses in the area, including retail, financial and professional services, public houses, hot food takeaways, and various cafes and restaurants.
The council added that the expansion would almost double the restaurant's floor area, but this "would still remain modest and in keeping with the scale of other similar uses in the area." In its official decision notice, it confirmed the proposal was in line with the provisions of the development plan.
