Plans to convert a former community building in Paisley into a café and takeaway have been approved by Renfrewshire Council. The owner has been granted planning permission, subject to conditions, for the conversion of the facility in Foxbar's Lyon Road.
Proposed Menu and Hours
The business plans to operate from 11am until 10pm, Monday to Sunday, offering a range of items including filled rolls, paninis, kebabs, and pizzas. Tea, coffee, soft drinks, cakes, and pastries are also set to be on the menu, according to a planning statement submitted with the application earlier this year.
The statement explained that the applicant recently sold his convenience store in the immediate area and, as owner of the community building, wishes to provide a café or small restaurant in the area where he has had a business for more than a decade. The premises were originally a community building until sold by the council to the applicant several years ago.
Location and Context
The premises are located in Lyon Road, surrounded by a steel open bar fence with a gate, and sit in a largely open grassed area visible from the main artery road. The area is the Foxbar housing estate, which has few facilities such as shops or eating establishments serving the local population. The proposal is to operate as a café with hot food carryout.
The facility's kitchen is expected to have a range of equipment, including a cooker, soup kettle, panini press, shawarma grill, electric pizza oven, fridge, freezer, sinks, wash hand basins, and ventilation.
Council Assessment
In its assessment, the local authority noted that policy requires proposals for commercial development outwith the network of centres to demonstrate that the proposed location is appropriate, justifying why sites within the network have been discounted. However, in this instance, it was not considered necessary for such a justification given the nature and scale of the development, the building having been vacant for several years, and its relationship with the surrounding area.
The council considered that the development would likely attract people from the local community and would not draw trade from centres within the hierarchy, such as Paisley town centre. It concluded that the proposal would not generate significant footfall to the point that local centres would suffer or be compromised. In its official decision notice, the council confirmed the proposal was in line with the provisions of the development plan.
