East Lothian Council’s Planning Committee met remotely on Tuesday 2nd November and granted permission for a snack van to be sited at Longniddry Bents Car Park No.1.
The application, from BBQ Street Foods, was called off the Scheme of Delegation List by Councillor O’Donnell due to a number of objections being received and the concerns of Longniddry Community Council.
The pitch had been offered by East Lothian Council. The applicant stated that the trailer would be 12.6 metres long and that trading would take place between the hours of 8.30am to 4.30pm November to February and from 8.30am to 7.30pm March to October. Litter bins would be provided during trading hours and the snack van would offer hot food, such as chicken, ribs, burgers and wraps. A condition of the licence is that there would no deep fat frying.
A total of ten objections had been received, raising concerns including a potential increase in litter at the site and an increase in traffic and congestion in the area. The local community council’s main area of concern was the potential increase in litter and they were keen for the vendor to use environmentally friendly packaging and cutlery to minimise the use of plastic.
Following a debate, planning committee members unanimously agreed to approve the application with some amendments to conditions including: reducing the length of time that planning permission will run from three years down to one year, to allow for review and assessment of any environmental impact; in the interests of road safety, the vehicle should only enter or exit the site via a left turn; the applicant would be able to leave the vehicle onsite overnight if he chose to do so to reduce the environmental impact of daily travel and reduce any road safety concerns; the applicant must provide two litter bins, one for recyclable material and one for general waste and that these be removed by the applicant at the close of each day’s trading.
The committee also heard that the applicant intended to use packaging and cutlery made from sugar cane, therefore reducing the use of plastic.
The application number, for more information, is 21/01125/P.