Wilson's Food Hall in Scarborough granted retrospective permission for conversion and changes

North Yorkshire Council has approved Adrian Wilson’s part-retrospective planning application for Wilson’s Food Hall despite some local concerns.

The plan, which was submitted after the conversion and several external alterations had already commenced, was given the green light on January 9.

The former garage is now a food and drink hall consisting of a café, bakery, winery, retail space, ice cream parlour and an ancillary office space.

The unit has an internal seating area and customer toilets, alongside an outdoor seating area at the front with three tables for 12 customers.

No alterations were proposed to the physical size of the building but it did seek approval for a double door to the central roadside, three associated branded awnings, the outdoor seating area and adjacent windbreak timber fencing.

The Highway Authority, Seamer Parish Council and the council’s environmental health team said they had no objections.

But two locals told the planning authority they had concerns about the impact of the development.

One resident said: “[I have ] concerns about the retrospective nature of the application and that the site is located within a conservation area, therefore the applicant should have known that permission was required for this development.”

The applicant said that the food hall was anticipated to have a “negligible impact on the local highway network”, with the expected traffic levels set to “remain modest and well within the capacity of the existing infrastructure”.

However, another local said: “This is not the case as the roads are poor with a lot of traffic and vehicles getting stuck.”

Planning officers noted that the property had previously been used as a commercial garage “which would have generated vehicle movements and parking demand” and that as such “the development is considered to be acceptable”.

A council report concluded that the site’s use as a food hall would “not detrimentally impact the amenity of existing and future residents” and was compliant with local policies.

In October, the business applied for a premises licence which was approved earlier this month with permitted opening hours from 7am to 10pm, seven days a week.

The application was approved by North Yorkshire Council subject to various conditions.