October 10, 2017 9.14 am This story is over 77 months old

Second Brayford floating restaurant WILL go ahead after appeal granted

The Planning Inspectorate has allowed plans for a second floating restaurant on the Brayford in Lincoln, despite a previous rejection from the City of Lincoln Council. Permission has been granted for the £1 million building, which would sit on stilts, in a similar fashion to the city’s Wagamama restaurant. It would be located to the…
Designs for the floating restaurant on the Brayford: Stem Architects

The Planning Inspectorate has allowed plans for a second floating restaurant on the Brayford in Lincoln, despite a previous rejection from the City of Lincoln Council.

Permission has been granted for the £1 million building, which would sit on stilts, in a similar fashion to the city’s Wagamama restaurant.

It would be located to the west the viewing platform, which would also be refurbished and brought back to life through the project.

As previously reported, the City of Lincoln Council’s planning committee unanimously refused plans for a second floating restaurant on the Brayford at a meeting on September 14, 2016, stating the design would not be in-keeping with the area and that views would be harmed.

The Brayford Trust and Investors in Lincoln, behind the plans, made an appeal to the Secretary of State against the city council’s decision in June.

Chief executive of Investors in Lincoln and trustee of the Brayford Trust David Rossington argued at the time that the objective of the project was to preserve the Brayford, with income from the business used to maintain the pool. He added that the trust faced the potential pulling of the funding for the project if permission was not granted.

The appeal was upheld with a number of conditions, including the use of external materials that would “safeguard the appearance and character of the area” and the addition of extraction systems to filter cooking odours.

Photo: Stem Architects

Inspector Karen Baker wrote in the appeal report: “Although the proposed development would increase the built development on Brayford Pool along its northern bank and there would be some impact on the views from the commercial premises immediately to the north, on the other side of the promenade, given the scale and mass of the proposal, along with the extent of the openness of Brayford Pool, the northern bank would remain predominantly open.

“Furthermore, the overall design of the proposed restaurant building, which would be predominantly glazed at ground floor level, would allow glimpsed views through the building from the promenade to the north, to the open water beyond, and its siting, to the west of the existing viewing platform would retain the outlook from the student residences at Brayford Keys.

“As such, it would not unduly harm the open nature of the Pool or materially restrict views across the Pool from the north.”

The restaurant is expected to created around 30 new jobs. Building work would take around a year to complete.

It is not yet known which brand will move into the space.

David Rossington said previously: “The project is for the public good to help protect the Brayford for future generations.

“I believe that the proposed development should be welcomed and supported; it is quite clearly the right development in the right place at the right time.

“I must stress that there would be no private gain from this development, should it go ahead.

“We have addressed many of the objections received with a redesign of the building, and the main objective is about preserving the Brayford – a job which has been done for 2,000 years.”

Plans previously proved controversial with some local residents. Some stated they were worried the Brayford was becoming “too cluttered” and views would be obscured.