A RETROSPECTIVE application to turn an industrial unit into a tap bar and shop has been recommended for approval.

The plan for a site on Ulverston's Lightburn Trading Estate is also seeking retrospective permission to use adjacent industrial units for a microbrewery and for storage and distribution. 

The submission from Kirsty Mackenzie is to be discussed by a meeting of the district council's planning committee today. 

Case officer Mike Hoar says in a pre-meeting report that a total of 19 objections to the proposals have been received.

Concerns have been expressed over parking and the potential for noise and disturbance.

In July, permission was given for the bar to sell alcohol seven days a week between the hours of 11am and 11pm.

However, Ms Mackenzie, director of Lakeland Brewhouse Ltd, said in documentation dated November 7 that the opening hours would voluntarily be restricted.

She said the bar would be open between mid-afternoon and 10.30pm from Wednesday to Saturday and between mid-afternoon and 7pm on Sunday.

She said it would only be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays during winter.

The initial site plan identified four parking spaces in the forecourt of the tap bar, with eight spaces reserved for outdoor seating and washing down kegs.

Mr Hoar says in his report that the county council's highways department objected to the proposal 'in terms of the shortfall of parking provision' potentially leading to additional demand for on-street parking and an 'adverse impact on traffic movements and safety in the locality'.

"It should be noted that there are double yellow lines within the industrial estate approach road to restrict on-street parking within the access and at the junction with Lightburn Road," says Mr Hoar.

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"In response to the concerns of the highway authority, a revised site plan identifies 11 parking spaces, a reduced keg washdown area and a reduced customer seating area."

Mr Hoar says the proposal is 'finely balanced' between 'safeguarding the residential amenity of the wider locality, safeguarding the provision of industrial land provision at Ulverston and in supporting a sustainable local business'.

He says the use of two of the three units in question as a microbrewery and for storage and distribution presents no issues as the activities fall 'within the scope of what might be expected at an industrial estate'.

However, he stresses that the creation of the tap bar sits 'less comfortably' within the planning policy framework.

He notes Ms Mackenzie has responded to concerns raised by the district council and the county council's highways department.

"The provision of a tap bar is part of the current trend related to craft brewing and the desire for people to experience the ‘ambience’ of an industrial setting close to where the product is produced," he says.

He recommends the application for approval subject to a number of conditions, including that, within two months of permission being granted, an 'assessment of the impact of the proposed development on nearby residential properties shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the local planning authority'.

"The assessment shall address the potential for noise and disturbance to occur which may impact upon the amenity of the occupier(s) of the nearby properties and shall fully identify all operational and physical mitigation measures," he says.