Proposed off-licence for Spalding refused planning permission for extension

Planning permission to extend a controversial proposed off-licence in Spalding has been refused on the grounds of road safety and privacy grounds.

A premises licence was granted to Hemen Ahmad for the former sub-Post Office in Bourne Road in January.
He then applied for permission to build a single-storey extension to the rear.

South Holland District Council said the proposed development would:

• “lead to an unacceptable intensification of the retail use of the premises leading to a hazard to all users of the highway due to the lack of proper provision for customer parking and servicing facilities. This is exacerbated by the site’s location adjacent to a very busy junction, bus stops and a zebra crossing”
• “lead to an extension being built in very close proximity to rear windows at 4 Bourne Road leading to unacceptable loss of amenity by virtue of loss of outlook and overshadowing”

Ward district councillor Angela Newton, who has campaigned against the off-licence known as Fantasia being established, is satisfied with the council’s decision.
She said: “It is good to see that the planning department have listened to [Lincolnshire County Council’s highways officer] Jon Sharpe’s comments, together with those that I made on behalf of residents of the ward.
“Several local people also wrote directly to the council expressing concerns relating to parking and road safety and their fears have been listened too and taken into account by the planning officer who recommended that the application be refused.”

Meanwhile, a planning application relating to a proposed food store and off-licence at the closed Station Gates in Winsover Road is being considered.
Wisbech man Zagros Abdullah wants to take out a window on the Winsover Road elevation and replace it with a set of doors.

Spalding and District Civic Society objects. Planning chairman John Charlesworth said it would be a “pity” to lose the window which depicts level-crossing gates and a steam engine.

If the plan is passed, the society wants to see the window preserved at a museum and suggests the applicant ought to consider the door on the Station Approach frontage.