A new cafe bar is on its way to a neighbourhood shopping block in Preston after the venture was given the go-ahead by city council planners.

The hostelry will replace a carpet shop on the corner of Blackpool Road and Parkside Avenue in Ashton.   The application claimed the family-run business “cannot compete with national retailers” and so would not be continuing – regardless of whether or not the bar plan was approved.

Environmental health officials noted that the change was likely to lead to an increase in customers visiting the site, but concluded that the size of the new operation meant the “associated comings and goings” were unlikely to have a severe impact on those living nearby.

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Nevertheless, they did recommend earlier closing times than those proposed by the applicant, Sapphire Investment Properties Limited.   The new business will have to stop trading at 10.20pm on weeknights, 11pm on Saturdays and 10pm on Sundays and bank holidays instead of the respective 11pm, midnight and 10.30pm finishes for which permission was sought.

Highways officers at Lancashire County Council did not object to the plans, but did predict parked vehicles would be “likely to take [up] even more of the pedestrian footway along Parkside Avenue”.

The conversion will also include a two-storey extension at the rear of the premises to create four flats, following the demolition of a single-floor part of the existing building.

However, Preston City Council planning officers concluded that while the addition would be “substantial”, it would be in keeping with the scale of buildings within the surrounding area and would not cause any visual harm.

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