Eatery bid for former pet shop
Bold plans include flats
Plans have been lodged to replace a former pet aquarium with a restaurant, shop and flats in Prestwick.
Zaina Ali has applied for planning permission to demolish the site at 124 Main Street.
And in its place he wants to erect a new eatery and retail unit on the ground floor and construct two flats above.
The proposal has sparked two objections with one resident claiming there are enough places to eat in the busy town already.
A document lodged with South Ayrshire Council’s planning department pointed out a new two storey building needs to be erected as the current property is “structurally unsound and decaying.”
T h e s t a t e m e n t f rom agent Bennett Developments and Consulting said the cottage would be replaced with a development of the right scale and style which would “contribute to the character of the area.”
It is understood the restaurant would open from 10am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
A potential operator is not known yet.
So far plans reveal front of house seating as customers enter and a full length servery along the right hand wall.
But Prestwick resident George Wallace is not impressed, raising a number of concerns in an objection submitted to planning officials at South Ayrshire Council.
He voiced worries about noise, smells coming from the kitchen and more demand for parking.
A statement from Bennett said the restaurant “will help to animate the street and generate activity which will contribute to the sense of safety and well being so essential in the urban setting”.
But Mr Wa l l a c e dismissed that claim stating: “Clearly the applicant has no idea of the current activity on Main Street as it is probably one of the most animated streets in Ayrshire and does not require any further stimulation.”
Also objecting, Sid Brierley of PrestwickResidents Action Against Flooding raised worries about where runoff water would go.
Parking problems is another issue according to Mr Brierley as the development would have no spaces.
South Ayrshire Council is considering the planning application.