PLANS for a new diner in Penrith have been unanimously approved despite police objections.

Members of Westmorland and Furness Council's Eden local area planning committee considered the application at Penrith Town Hall on Wednesday (September 7).

Mr S Dixon submitted the proposal for a diner serving food and drinks, including parking and drive-thru facilities, on land opposite Lloyd, in Cowper Road.

It was put before the committee because it was a departure from the council's development plan.

Mat Wilson, a council planning officer, told members that the application was recommended for approval subject to conditions.

Councillor Michael Eyles (Penrith South, Lib Dems) agreed with the officer and proposed that they approve the application and the committee voted in favour of his proposal.

According to a planning report, Cumbria's neighbourhood policing team raised concerns of anti-social behaviour and the nuisance use of motor vehicles at similar establishments in the town and the public's complaints stretched available officer resources.

The report states: "Repeated calls to the same location for the same complaints are not sustainable.

"Although the intended trading hours have not been published, we seek clarity from the applicant on this issue – as the majority of complaints (at other premises) will occur in the evenings until closing, ie up to 11pm.

"If, as the design and access statement suggests, the applicant proposes only to serve workers on the industrial estates, we request consideration of a condition to prohibit trading beyond 7pm."

The planning report states: "The application is to develop the site with a single-storey café/diner with a drive-through facility, situated toward the north east corner of the plot.

"Floor plans show the diner indicatively to provide 28 covers with a pair of drive-through serveries at the rear of the building.

"18 parking spaces are arranged to the west and south with a new access off the spur road on the west side of the plot.

"The diner would be 12m by 10m in footprint and around 4m high with a monopitch roof inclined and extending over the fully glazed east elevation to act as a canopy/shade."

The site is a vacant plot within Eden Business Park, which lies next to the M6 motorway at the northern end of Gilwilly industrial estate, in Penrith.

It covers an area of just under 0.1 hectare and it occupies the northern part of a plot fronting the business park spine road running north-south.

A spur road across the north of the site provides access to two further, as yet undeveloped plots to the west, while the site north of the spur road is occupied by the G&S Services business unit.