A Lake District town’s leaders have lamented that it has become a widely known attraction for anti-social late night revellers.
Windermere and Bowness Town Council was responding to a bid by pizza chain Domino’s to extend its opening hours in Bowness to 2am and said it would be unjust to object to it.
The town council said: “This council considers that it is a matter of considerable regret that numerous premises in Bowness have been granted permission to operate for several hours after midnight, resulting in Bowness becoming a widely known attraction for late-night revellers whose anti-social behaviour frequently continues well into the small hours.
“The resulting ambience is, therefore, far removed from that expected in a national park.
“Most unfortunately, numerous precedents have been set, so it would appear unjust to deny the applicants an extension of hours, particularly in view of a favourable noise impact assessment specifically relating to this application.”
The pizza chain has applied to amend the condition which said that the extraction equipment shall not be operated between midnight and 8am.
Planning documents said: “Whilst the hours of opening are not restricted the above condition restricts the effective use of the premises as a pizza takeaway. Domino’s seeks to extend the hours of operation to 2am each day of the week.”
According to the Domino’s Pizza website, the takeaway is open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays, and until midnight Sunday to Thursday.
The application said there were a number of venues in the town open late so the principle of late night operation was well established.
The planning statement adds: “As such, the proposal to allow a modest extension to the hours of operation in line with neighbouring properties will enhance the overall offer of the town to residents and visitors alike as a modern world class destination.”
The planning application is under consideration.
