Restaurant looks set to become a pub again
MANDARIN TAKEAWAY WILL REVERT TO WHITE SWAN
A FORMER Derbyshire pub is set to regain its previous use after a number of years as a restaurant.
The Mandarin restaurant, a Chinese food establishment currently only providing takeaway service, in Egginton Road, Hilton, is now set to return to use as a gastropub.
Before becoming a Chinese restaurant it had spent decades as the White Swan Inn. Now the venue’s owner, Suzanna Chan, has had plans approved by South Derbyshire District Council to return the property to use as a gastropub under its former name.
Documents filed on behalf of the applicant say the restaurant was hit hard by the pandemic and its recovery has been very slow, saying it needs investment in order to survive. It says the venue is “unlikely” to revert to the service it offered before the pandemic.
They detail that while Hilton has seen “phenomenal” expansion in the past 20 years, the village does not have the public services which a centre of its size should have. At a district council planning meeting on Tuesday, councillors approved plans to turn the venue into a gastropub, “specialising in serving local, highquality food and ales”. The site would have 30 parking spaces.
Jonathan Jenkin, agent for the applicant, told the meeting that this was a “clear business opportunity” in a village which “does not have the relevant services” to fit its size.
The growth of Hilton has attracted an experienced operator to partner with the current owners of the establishment, he said. He added that the partner operator would “inject considerable investment” into the venue, including helping with much-needed renovations, “which will lead to the significant betterment of current conditions”.
Mr Jenkin confirmed there would not be any outdoor eating, which would be handled through a further application at a later stage if it was to be considered.
Cllr Peter Smith, a Hilton ward member, told the meeting that he was “generally in favour” of the application, but had concerns over parking. He said: “If this is to become a gastropub, we would wish them well, but when you look at the Boot (Repton), the Bull’s Head (Repton) and the Dragon (Willington), all except the Boot have significant parking spaces available. For this to be acceptable, I would like to see more car-parking spaces made available, to avoid issues of cars clogging up the street.” He requested that the site should have electric vehicle parking spaces. The committee agreed that a condition of the approval would be that the site has two electric vehicle charging points.
Cllr Trevor Southerd said: “For years we have asked publicans to justify closures and now we have an application to convert one back to a public house, with a more grandiose name, it makes no difference to me.”
Cllr Melanie Bridgen said: “I see a lot of merit in this application. It appears to be taking a pretty dilapidated building back into something the public can use.”
There had been 10 objection letters claiming the proposals would lead to an increase in anti-social behaviour and disturbance, that there are insufficient public transport links and that there are plenty of other pubs and restaurants in Hilton.
A document submitted with the application details: “The owner of the restaurant, Suzanna Chan, has been approached by a local businessman to secure the change of use of the restaurant to a pub. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the restaurant to close, and the recovery out of Covid has been slow, with the restaurant operating a temporary takeaway service.
“The building and the wider site need investment. The building is shabby, and the general condition of the site is poor. The market for the gastropub is derived from the phenomenal expansion of Hilton in the last 20 years.
“Now the second-largest settlement in South Derbyshire (over 8,500 inhabitants), the village lacks the range of facilities that are normally associated with a settlement of this size The development represents a significant investment into Hilton which will enhance the approach to the village. It will provide a new facility for local residents and make better use of an existing brownfield site.”