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Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

This Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) provides advice and guidance specific to sensitive uses including Restaurants, Cafés, Hot Food Takeaways, Bookmaking Offices, Amusement Centres, Pubs and Nig

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

SPG represents non-statutory planning guidance that supports, clarifies and/or illustrates, by example, policies included within the current planning policy framework, including development plans and

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

When considering applications for restaurants, cafés, hot food takeaways, bookmaking offices, amusement centres, pubs and nightclubs, the council will consider their proper location (for example, avoi

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

As indicated above, restaurants, cafés, hot food takeaways, bookmaking offices, amusement centres, pubs and nightclubs are considered sensitive uses in terms of their location and the associated poten

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The council will support development that maximises opportunities to improve health and wellbeing. Development will not be permitted where it will result in significant harm to life, human health or w

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

f. Promoting a diversity of land uses that provide active frontages and ensure vibrancy throughout the day; h. Promoting healthy environments and sustainable development that support and encourage wal

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Development proposals must not result in an unacceptable adverse impact on the environment, including the following considerations: • Air quality; and • Noise

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The primary function of restaurants and cafés is the sale of hot food and drinks for consumption on the premises. Although commercial in nature, restaurants and cafés do not fall within any use class

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Where restaurants and cafés occupy a disproportionately high percentage of shopping frontages, they can reduce the vitality and viability of centres, increase litter and cause other amenity issues suc

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

A hot food takeaway is an establishment, the primary function of which is the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises. Although commercial in nature, hot food takeaways do not fall within an

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Examples of hot food takeaways include kebab shops, pizza shops and Chinese takeaway shops; however cafes and restaurants often have an ancillary takeaway element. Where the takeaway element of a prem

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Where takeaways occupy a disproportionately high percentage of shopping frontages, they can reduce the vitality and viability of centres, discourage shoppers, increase litter and cause other amenity i

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

In recent years, concern has been growing regionally and locally about the rising levels of obesity in both children and adults. The rapid expansion of the fast food industry over recent decades has h

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways raise a number of planning issues, and applicants should consider the guidance provided in relation to these issues at the earliest opportunity when submittin

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The vitality and viability of centres is affected by the balance of uses within them. This needs to be appropriately managed to ensure centres remain attractive locations for shoppers, with the primar

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The council recognises that restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways make a contribution to the local economy and can be important to local communities, especially when they are part of a balanced mi

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

A survey was undertaken in 2020 to show the locations of Hot food bars within Belfast LGD (Appendix 1). This has been informed by a number of information sources including planning permissions, web-ba

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

When dealing with applications relating to new buildings, or the change of use of retail/non-retail premises to restaurants, cafés or hot food takeaways in district and local centres, a number of fact

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The council expects retail premises to be actively marketed for at least 12 months before an application for redevelopment or change of use to a hot food takeaway within a district or local centre can

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

There are two stages to this marketing process which applicants should follow: • marketing the re-use of the premises; • marketing the redevelopment of the premises for retail purposes.

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Where relevant the marketing strategy will also need to consider the potential to refurbish or redevelop the site in part or in whole to meet the requirements of alternative retail uses.

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

A marketing statement should be submitted with the planning application, setting out the details of the marketing strategy that has been undertaken. It should also be noted that where there is an exis

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The marketing statement should target potential occupiers with a variety of means. As a minimum, the following measures should be used: • the market price and an indication of this price relative to t

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The property details (particulars) should as a minimum detail: - good quality internal and external photographs; - the type of the property/site; - the size of the property/site; - address and locatio

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

In all cases, the applicant will firstly be expected to have undertaken a marketing strategy to determine the demand for the premises for retail purposes. Until this has been undertaken, change of use

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

In order to avoid restaurants, cafés or hot food takeaways giving the appearance of a 'dead' frontage, and negatively impacting visual amenity, attention should be paid to: • the scale of the proposal

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Many urban areas contain commercialised radial routes, which have many similarities with district and local centres, in terms of scale and function and in the variety of shops and local services. In o

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Within Belfast, around a quarter of children are either overweight or obese. Addressing obesity in children is a regional priority with a target of 3% reduction of obesity and 2% reduction of overweig

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Where a hot food takeaway is proposed within 400 metres of a primary or secondary school, and the proposal meets planning policy in other respects, planning permission will only be permitted subject t

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The only exception to this approach will be where the proposal is within Belfast city centre, or a district or local centre and can demonstrate that the introduction of such a use will meet all other

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Applicants should also refer to the council's 'Evening and Night-Time Economy SPG', which provides advice for proposed evening and late night social uses, and guidance on the agent of change principle

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Proposed restaurants, cafés and in particular hot food takeaways below or adjacent to existing residential units can present significant amenity concerns. Hot food takeaways due to their late night op

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Odours produced primarily as a result of the cooking process in restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways can have a negative impact on amenity of nearby sensitive premises if not adequately controlle

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways must install appropriate extraction and odour abatement systems to effectively disperse and reduce odours. Details of the proposed extraction systems and any

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Commercial Extraction systems must: • have minimal impact on visual amenity, including location and external finish; • be acoustically attenuated where deemed necessary (usually informed by a noise im

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

If odours cannot be reduced by means of discharge to 1m above ridge or 1m above eaves height and additional odour abatement technology, or if the extraction duct cannot be installed without significan

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Litter is inherently unsightly and causes considerable annoyance to residents and adjoining businesses. It can also be prejudicial to regeneration efforts, particularly within centres. Restaurants, ca

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

All planning applications for restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways should: • where possible, accommodate waste generated from the use of the premises on site. If within the curtilage of a buildin

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Further to this, refuse should not be left outside the premises e.g. on forecourts or on the public road (except for collection purposes).

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Applicants should also refer to the council's 'Waste SPG', which provides advice on the appropriate location of waste facilities, and guidance for the effective disposal of waste.

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways require regular deliveries to and from their premises, including at times when they are closed. In addition hot food takeaways rely on many short visits from

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Inadequate car parking provision may also lead to an increase in parking in adjacent streets where parking problems may already exist, causing inconvenience to residents. Hot food takeaways cause most

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Adequate arrangements must also be made for the servicing of the premises, both by delivery vehicles and for refuse collection. Ideally this should occur away from the main road.

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Restaurants, cafés and hot food takeaways may propose to include outdoor seating and furniture to the front of their premises (on a public footpath), to enable customers to eat and drink outside. Deta

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Restaurants, cafés or hot food takeaways that propose to include outdoor seating on a pavement should refer to the council's pavement café licensing guidance, which provides information for applicants

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

A bookmaking office is an establishment that is licensed to enable betting within the premises. Bookmaking offices are not considered to be a retail use and do not fall within any use class of the Pla

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Additionally, to operate within the law, bookmaking offices are required to be licensed under the Betting and Gaming (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, and the Betting, Gaming, Lotteries and Amusements (N

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The two forms of control, planning and licensing, are quite distinct and should not be confused. The council's Planning Service will deal only with those aspects of the proposal which are relevant to

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

Bookmaking offices raise a number of planning issues including reducing the vitality and viability of shopping centres, discouraging shoppers, and generating noise, litter, traffic and disturbance whi

Belfast·SPG012 Sensitive Uses

The impact of bookmaking offices can be two-fold. There is the physical location of a bookmaking office and its impacts upon the amenities of an area as outlined above; and there are the personal impa