Pizza parlour in Shropshire town looks to extend opening hours to compete with rivals
A pizza takeaway business in a Shropshire town centre wants to open until 3am at weekends in order to match their competitors.
Caprinos Pizza in Market Place, Wellington, state that they have been ‘struggling for trade due to the majority’ of surrounding takeaways having later opening hours in line with local bars and nightclubs.
Planning permission was approved almost three years ago for the building to be changed from a dessert eatery to the sale of hot food.
The approval had a planning condition attached that the food outlet would close at 11pm each night and midnight on a Saturday.
The opening times was conditioned ‘in order to protect the residential amenity of nearby properties’.
However, Caprinos Pizza Telford now want to vary the planning condition to closing at 12.30am five nights a week and 3am on Friday and Saturday.
“The client seeks to obtain permission for the above site to vary the operating hours due to loss of business which other local nearby food outlets are benefitting from,” said the planning statement.
“Caprinos Pizza is a national oven baked Pizza franchise chain with over 60 stores. They decided to choose Wellington as their next city to expand back in 2021 and since then have been struggling with footfall/trade due to majority of their type of business falling within the later hours of the evening in line with your local bars/nightclubs etc.”
The takeaway has contacted Telford & Wrekin Council’s licensing authority and received a formal licence to operate at the extended hours ‘after careful consideration was given to other nearby uses’.
They added: “Taking a look at the history of the surroundings and wider Telford & Wrekin area there are many examples where the local authority have deemed such adjustment to hours necessary in order to keep local businesses thriving during very tough economic climates.
“To conclude the stating hours in this application will be when the business will seize operating and staff will also vacate premises as these times.
“Unlike many outlets the client’s business does not play any sort of music or activities late into the night and the type of food prepared is oven baked pizzas.”
The planning application is a formal process in order to ensure the planning aspect is also reviewed aside the environmental health factors.
The variation of opening hours planning application can be viewed on the Telford & Wrekin Council’s planning portal on their website, number TWC/2024/0245. Any comments need to made during the consultation process which ends on April 25.
Caprinos Pizza Telford has also submitted part-retrospective plans for the installation of a new replacement shop frontage and signage.
A part-retrospective application has also been submitted for the installation and display of two static externally illuminated fascia signs.
