A bid seeking permission for extended hours for the first Starbucks in South Cumbria has been refused.
The changes would have seen the planned branch at Ulverston’s Beehive Business Park open between 6am and 10pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
But South Lakeland District Council turned down the application on the grounds that the proposed hours would have resulted in harm to the amenity of existing and future neighbouring occupiers owing to vehicle movements, customer noise, air handling units and staff arrivals early morning and late evening.
In her recommendation of refusal of the submission, case officer Charlotte Pinch said that analysis of Starbucks branches nationally had found that few stores in a setting such as Beehive Business Park have extended opening hours on a Sunday and bank holidays.
“Many [are] also subject to more restrictive opening hours during the weekdays,” she said.
She said it was considered that the extended opening hours would result in an increase in noise pollution which is likely to give rise to noise nuisance complaints and investigations, especially during evenings.
The application for extended hours was subject to a representation from Jan Hancock, of Queen Street, Ulverston, who said the town centre was already suffering from the impact of out-of-town retailers and that the increased hours would do further harm to the night-time economy.
The current permitted opening hours of the Starbucks branch are 6am to 10pm between Mondays and Fridays and 7am to 6pm on Sundays and bank holidays.
The application was put in by Mark Hepburn, of 23.5 Degrees, a franchised business partner of Starbucks.
When news of the proposed new branch was announced earlier this year, Michelle Scrogham, chairman of Ulverston Business Improvement District, said any new business would be a welcome addition to the town.
“But, personally, I prefer to see businesses in the town centre to improve the town’s offering,” she said. “If you have lots of businesses within the town centre, the more choice there is within the town centre, the more of a draw it is.
“Economically, it’s better to have everything located within the middle rather than retail parks or out-of-town shops.”
