Newark Town Council's planning committee approve new café bar chain in the Buttermarket
Councillors have supported the proposal of a new café bar chain in a bid to revitalise the town’s night time economy.
The decision to support the development of popular national chain Lounges was unanimous in the latest meeting of Newark Town Council’s planning committee.
Mrs Gill Dawn said: “I have looked at it and honestly, I applaud the district council for getting a reliable person in and showing interest.
“They (Lounges) have a good reputation and I am even more pleased about the long term affect it could have in regard to working with the town council.
“If I was sitting on this committee, I would have no problem voting for it.”
Mr Max Cope said: “I echo Gill’s comments. It can only help the night time economy.
“If they are willing to work with us then it is a great move for everybody.
“Let’s make the whole buttermarket work together. It would be a good use of that particular area.”
Lounges would convert units 4, 9, 10 and 11 into a single unit, dominating the right-hand side of the building towards Middlegate and Chain Lane.
Councillors raised concerns over the signage, which would alter the window and door on Chain Lane, as well as the re-design of the shop front on Middlegate, but as it did not change the points of access on Chain Lane, they were happy to look past it and progress the application to the district council.
A spokesman for Lounges, whose nearest venues to Newark are in West Bridgford, Mansfield and Grantham, said: “We hope that the Buttermarket presents an exciting opportunity for us to bring a Lounge to the community of Newark, subject to negotiation and planning approval.
“Lounges are neighbourhood café bars, providing delicious food and drinks all day long and committed to community engagement through charity fundraising, local events and group activities.
“Each Lounge is named individually, usually with a nod or reference to the area it’s in.”
Guy Taylor Associates has been commissioned by the council to conduct a Heritage Impact Assessment of the council’s planning application.
In its conclusion, the Newark-based firm said: “We believe the proposals will aim to preserve and enhance the historic fabric and, in many cases, revert back to its original design by the removal of modern partitions.”
The Buttermarket was originally built as a large-spanned cast iron frame structure to accommodate free arrangement of space and trade activity.
During the 1980s restoration, a row of shops were introduced into the smaller wings on either side of the building and a mezzanine gallery was added with shops on each side.
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