PLANS to open a restaurant in the West End have suffered a setback after council officers ruled a proposed outdoor seating area would cause “unacceptable” noise.

Three Thistles West, which runs six pubs across Scotland, had submitted a change of use application to Glasgow City Council for 162 Dumbarton Road, which was previously Knolls.

The company’s agent, Colliers International, stated the application would “formalise the use to class three (food and drink) for the new occupiers” as “we believe the unit has been operating under this use, without the class one (retail) element, as Knolls for a number of years”.

But planning officers have turned down the application, stating the seating area would “give rise to noise and activity levels likely to have an unacceptable impact on residential amenity”.

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They say it would have a “detrimental impact on the privacy of neighbouring residential backcourts”.

The refusal also stated the application did not propose an externally mounted flue to disperse cooking odours.

The developer can ask councillors to review the decision within three months.

Glasgow Times:

A planning statement, submitted on before of the applicant, stated: “The class three use including the outdoor seating area attracts people to the town centre and increases the vibrancy of the area.

“The licence granted for the premises allows the unit to operate until midnight.

“The grant of the licence to midnight and the fact that the class three use has been operating successfully within a residential area for a number of years demonstrates that this use will have no adverse impact on the amenity of nearby residents.

“No additional flues are proposed so there will be no additional impact in terms of smell from the unit.”

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It added: “Following the devastating impact on the retail and hospitality industries following the Covid-19 outbreak, we would hope that Glasgow City Council adopts a flexible approach to supporting new uses such as this in prominent town centre locations.”

Three Thistles West is a subsidiary of Three Thistles plc, which operates DRAM on Woodlands Road and The Clockwork Beer Company on Cathcart Road.

It also has Telford’s Refreshment Rooms, Paisley, The Steading in Edinburgh, The Laird & Dog Inn, Lasswade, and The Dog House at Balloch.