Domino's appealing takeaway refusal in Buckingham

Domino’s submitted plans last summer to turn the old Willen Hospice shop in Bridge street into a bustling takeaway outlet.

But in October, the plans were refused by Aylesbury Vale District Council because Bridge Street was already at capacity for non-retail use.

There were also concerns about road safety and parking as the takeaway outlet would be positioned just a stone’s throw from a crossing.

However, Domino’s has now submitted an appeal to try and force through the plans.

Buckingham Town Councillors have concerns that the distinctive double door will be lost and the nearby zebra crossing will create hazards when delivery drivers zip in and out of the outlet.

Councillors also argue that there is a ‘lack of parking for inward deliveries , customers, or pizza deliveries’, and there would be a ‘serious risk of casual parking on the pavement’.

There are also concerns about rubbish, smells, noise and ‘yobbish behaviour’.

Domino’s says an exception can be made to the ‘non-retail use’ rule when a unit has been actively marketed for retail purposes for more than six months without success. The old shop has been actively marketed since May 2015.

In its appeal statment, it said parking restrictions are in place in the vicinity of the site but ‘on-street parking is provided on Market Street at all times’ and a ‘wide range of on-street parking opportunities are located within a short walk of the application site’.

It also said that parking surveys and on-site observations have indicated that there is ‘sufficient capacity on Market Street and Market Square to accommodate any demand for parking generated by the proposed unit’.

It concluded that there are ‘no material reasons why the proposed development should not be granted planning consent on highways or transportation grounds’.