PLANS have been granted for a new hot Vietnamese takeaway in a Lake District town - after the applicant had to apply for retrospective planning application on the unit due to a confusion with documents.

Retrospective plans were submitted to the Lake District National Park Authority for the a change of Use of an existing retail unit to a Hot Food Take-Away at the Little Saignon takeaway at 9 Bank Street in Keswick Town Centre, after the authority became aware works had taken place without planning approval.

This retrospective application has been generated following the LDNPA being notified that works were being carried out at the property which appeared to required planning approval.

The applicant received written notification of potential enforcement action from the LDNPA on November, 8 2023.

The applicant took a long lease on the ground floor of 9 Bank Street to open a hot food take away café selling traditional Vietnamese food such as rice noodle soups, Vietnamese sandwich (Banh mi), spring rolls last year.

The applicant told the LDNPA they had confused Building Regulation Approval with Planning Approval and while applying for the former hadn't applied for the latter.

After being contacted by a LDNPA Planning Officer the applicant was said to have sought advice right away to enable a retrospective application to be submitted.

In documents supporting the plans, the applicant said: "The applicant’s proposal has involved repositioning the existing wc facility and the installation of cooking facilities at the rear of the building. Due to the type of food the applicant will be preparing and cooking the kitchen does not need to be as large as Hot Food Take-away outlets such as Thai, Chinese and Fish and Chip.

"Vietnamese food generally involves fresh ingredients, minimal cooking, lots of leafy greens and fish, very limited amounts of animal protein and fat, and moderate use of sugar. A large feature of the offered food will be the traditional Bánh Mì, a Vietnamese sandwich."

During a consultation process both Keswick Town Council and Cumberland Council were found to have no issues with the application.

The applicant said that the takeaway will be open during lunchtimes and early evening, therefore there will therefore not be the inherent problems associated with many take away food outlets being open later into the night.

The requested approved opening hours for the business are 11am to 8pm everyday including Bank Holidays.