A councillor has raised concerns over the future of a Salford neighbourhood where she said most businesses are ‘takeaways’ or ‘vape shops’.
The issue came up during a meeting of Salford council’s planning panel on April 2 to decide whether to approve a new cafe and hot food takeaway at 41 Barton Road in Eccles.
The property is an end terrace which was previously used as a vets.
It is based near the busy A57 Liverpool Road and is mainly residential, with multiple housing estates around Patricroft Park.
Proposed opening hours according to a council report would be from 7am to 11pm from Monday to Saturday for the cafe, with an earlier closing time on Sundays and Bank Holidays of 10.30pm.
The hot food takeaway element of the application would run between 11am to 10pm Monday to Saturday, with ‘no opening’ on Sundays and Bank Holidays.
Major concerns were raised by neighbours about whether there is a need for another takeaway venue in the area, and the potential for more litter and noise, with nine objections submitted to Salford council over the plans.
An objection was also made by councillors Barbara Bentham, John Mullen, and Jacqui Fahy.
Speaking as a local resident in the area, Councillor Bentham told the planning panel that approval for the scheme could ‘open the floodgates for there to be fast-food restaurants opening on every residential street corner’.
She added: “Liverpool Road in Eccles, approximately two-mile stretch from Patricroft Bridge and Eccles town centre, incorporates commercial premises.
“Now of those commercial premises the vast majority are fast-food takeaways, Turkish barbers, nail shops, and vape shops, you can’t buy a pair of shoes in Eccles.
“I submit that allowing an unneeded, fast-food restaurant in what is predominantly a residential area is going to cause a detriment to local residents and to the area.
“I’ve just talked about how many fast-food restaurants there are on Liverpool Road, some of these members of the panel have been litter picking in the streets off Liverpool Road.
“The vast majority of street litter is fast-food related, it’s drinks cans, it’s water bottles, it’s paper cups, pizza boxes, and burger wrappers, all on the streets due to the fact that fast-food restaurants are allowed to flourish.
“Why on earth are our town planners allowing detriment to our neighbourhoods and then having to spend millions of pounds on regeneration?”
Councillor Ben Grogan, who sits on the planning committee, also questioned whether the plans were right for the area.
He said: “It feels like there’s a lot going on with the application trying to make it fit, but I don’t think it does quite fit, at least in my head.”
Pushing back against some of the criticism, Councillor Mike McCusker urged to ‘avoid making assumptions’ about Turkish barber shops in the area.
The application was moved and seconded for approval, although Councillor James Prady said it would be ‘naive’ to think that people would be refused a takeaway from the premises on a Sunday, despite a pledge in the application not to serve hot takeaway food on those days.
The plans were approved by Salford council’s planning committee.
