New pasty shop to open on Steep Hill

— Update: The application for a new Steep Hill snack shop was approved by councillors at the City on Lincoln Council Planning Committee on December 14.

City planners are in favour of proposals to turn the ground floor of a house on Steep Hill into a Cornish Pasty Shop.

The grade II listed building is part of a mid-terraced complex on the west side of Steep Hill (no. 12) and already has a large low front window.

The proposed use is restricted to the ground floor area only and the upper floors will be maintained as residential accommodation.

The proposed hours of operation are 11am – 5pm and there are no external or internal changes that would require listed building consent.

The owner of the Grove Tea Rooms at 18 Steep Hill objected to the application, saying “this would have a huge impact on our business in regards to the selling of fast food and also the probability of some form of takeaway drinks.”

Pete Boswell, Head of Planning Services at the City Council, wrote in his report on the proposal that Grove’s objection “can not be considered as a planning issue.”

“I consider that the use of the ground floor of the premises as a shop will enhance the vitality and viability of Steep Hill by increasing footfall and helping to attract people up and down the hill over and above what a unit in residential use would do here,” Boswell explained.

Further objections have been received from residents regarding the risk of fire and smell from the shop, but a planners’ visit to the premises concluded an internal extraction system will be sufficient to cope with odours.

“While the change of use could potentially lead to an increase in foot fall to and from the property,” Boswell added, “its situation on Steep Hill means that there is, in any case, a steady flow of pedestrians past the unit and therefore I do not consider that the character of the area would be unduly harmed.”

The Cornish Pasty Shop already have an outlet in Cornhill, Lincoln.