A new takeaway will be coming to Cambuslang’s Main Street despite concerns the town already has enough of them.

Councillors unanimously agreed to a change of use application from Ovenfeast Ltd for a former tanning salon at 214 Main Street at a meeting of the planning committee on Tuesday, May 11.

Residents had complained that the street “is already crammed full of takeaway shops” and that “allowing unlimited takeaways” would leave “no scope for other essential shops”.

However, planners felt a takeaway was “an acceptable town centre use” for the unit which has been vacant since July 2019.

In total, 20 letters of objection were submitted to the council along with a petition calling for the application to be refused.

Similar change of use applications for an estate agents in Rutherglen and a takeaway in East Kilbride were refused by the committee on the grounds that there were already enough of them and that planning the use of town centres was a relevant planning consideration.

Objectors had also pointed out that litter from takeaways on Main Street was already an issue however, new off-street bin storage has been proposed by the applicant and would need to be built before the takeaway can open.

There were also complaints that “many residents” in Cambuslang are overweight or in poor health and that “takeaway food contributes to this”.

South Lanarkshire Council’s economic development department were supportful of the application which will bring a vacant town centre unit back into use.

Pre-pandemic, Cambuslang town centre had a 92 per cent occupancy rate.

Tina Meikle, planning and building standards manager, told the committee: “There are other commercial properties close to the unit with a bookmaker on one side and a cake shop and chemist on the other.

“We have consulted environmental services and our roads colleagues and neither of them have any objections subject to conditions.

“The main issues that have been raised by local residents is the number of takeaway premises that exist in the area.

“We have looked at it quite carefully and it is a town centre use in a town centre location.

“There is no specific policy that would require it to be retail and there is a mixture of uses in the town centre.

“We have also looked at any potential impact in terms of residential amenity but this is a single story property.

“There are no flats above or on either side so given that there are no residential properties nearby, we don’t think there will be any impact on amenity.”