Cafe loses appeal to sell hot takeaway food

Cole Kitchen is located in an area of Sunderland which has childhood obesity issues, the council says

A popular cafe will be forced to stop selling hot takeaway food after losing an appeal.

Under national coronavirus regulations, Sunderland's Cole Kitchen was allowed to sell hot takeaways but the withdrawal of the regulations meant it had to apply for permission to do so permanently.

Permission was denied by the city council in December over concerns the business could add to the area's obesity problem.

An appeal against that decision has now been dismissed, with the cafe's owners saying they are "frustrated" with a lack of support from the council.

'Unbelievable'

Sunderland City Council's planning department refused the retrospective planning permission application, saying the bid clashed with policies set out in its development plan.

The business then lodged an appeal with the national Planning Inspectorate, which was dismissed earlier this month.

It means the cafe must stop selling hot takeaway food by the end of February, and revert to its previous use.

In a statement published on social media, Cole Kitchen's owners expressed their disappointment with the decision.

Thanking the "thousands" of people who signed a petition backing the business, they said: "We find it frustrating that Sunderland council have made no efforts to support us or offer guidance in how to protect jobs."

Their statement also said they find the reasons behind the refusal "quite unbelievable".

'No leeway'

Labour-led Sunderland council initially rejected the cafe’s plans to become a permanent takeaway as it is located in a ward where the obesity level of Year 6 pupils is higher than 21%, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Critics had pointed out that figures were 21.3%, but the government-appointed planning inspector said there was “no leeway within the policy".

Owner Adam Cole says he is "confident" his business is not responsible for local childhood obesity

The business owners argued its opening times meant it would not be used by school children, but the inspector said owners would not be able to prevent youngsters using the cafe on weekends and during holidays.

They added the takeaway would “not support or improve the health and well-being of local communities”.

In their social media statement, the owners highlighted healthy options on their menu and said: "We're confident that our business isn't responsible for childhood obesity in the local area."

A Sunderland City Council spokesperson said: “The council has policies on residential amenity and health, and these have been upheld in the planning inspector’s decision.”