A LICHFIELD fish and chip shop’s bid to extend its opening hours has been denied by the planning inspector.
Fish Face on Tamworth Road wanted to be able to open 4pm to 9pm on a Sunday and bank holiday. It can only currently operate from Monday to Saturday.
The shop opened more than a decade ago and said that demand had since increased, adding that other fish and chip shops in the area were also able to open on Sundays.
The takeaway’s bosses also said demand was likely to further increase due to the nearby housing development off Cricket Lane – but a similar application to open on Sundays and bank holidays was refused in 2023.
The proposal was rejected by Lichfield District Council due to the impact on residential amenity. However, the decision was appealed to the planning inspector.
The appeal has now been dismissed, with a ruling saying that while extending the opening hours had strong community support and would have an economic beneift, these would not outweigh the harm caused.
The inspector said:
“During my site visit on a weekday when the shop was open, I experienced cooking smells from the premises.
“The odour was particularly noticeable from outside the frontages of the houses opposite, even though there are a bank of trees and the busy road in between.
“Extending the opening hours to allow the premises to operate seven days a week would inevitably result in more people visiting the premises and more cars parking, opening and closing doors, as well as more footfall to and from the shop.
“Similarly, increased odours can also be expected from extended cooking times. As such, opening seven days a week there would be little respite for neighbouring occupiers from these activities and odours.
“I conclude that varying the opening hours of the fish and chip shop would harm the living conditions of the occupiers of surrounding residential properties with regard to noise, disturbance and odour.”
