A FAST-food shop will put off tourists by taking away Grange-over-Sands' old fashioned charm, say objectors.

Applicant Mehmet Baglam hopes to convert the former butchers and printing business at Church Buildings, on Main Street, into a fast-food shop called Flames.

His application says that the empty stores detract "from the vibrancy of the town centre and the appearance of the Conservation Area", and that bringing them back into use "will also have a positive effect on the local economy".

However, some townsfolk and staff at the hair salon above the proposed takeaway strongly disagree. Nine objectors have shared their fears about the effect of cooking fumes, litter, obesity and late-night rowdiness on the Edwardian seaside town with planners at South Lakeland District Council.

A father who lives close to Church Buildings told planners: "There is a chip shop (that also serves kebabs and pizzas), two Chinese takeaways and an Indian restaurant that serves takeaways all within 100 metres of this proposal, and aside from noise, litter and other disturbances our country's children are living in an obesity epidemic which a takeaway kebab shop in a small town already well served with takeaway food can only make worse."

The Grange man said the affect on elderly neighbours would be "unpleasant" and added: "A takeaway of this sort is not in keeping with the Edwardian character of Grange and its many independent, high-quality shops. It would be detrimental to the town centre, encourage litter and has (as any police officer would tell you) the potential to be a trouble spot with late-night young drinkers."

A hairdresser from the Kacuzi salon above the planned fast-food shop said she was worried that rubbish and half-eaten food would be strewn across the promenade, the duck pond and Grange's streets, putting townsfolk at risk from rats and Weil's disease.

She told planners: "The smell around Grange especially in summer when there are a lot of visitors would be awful. This will stop people coming eventually and could put my job at risk if the smell affects our returning customers."

An apprentice at the hair salon added that the fast-food shop would "take away some of the charm an old-fashioned town like Grange has".

According to planning documents, the takeaway would be open from midday to 11pm Sundays to Thursdays, and midday to 2am Fridays and Saturdays.