Former Blackburn opticians to become late-night dessert bar

Formerly an optician's, the retail unit in Whalley Range has undergone some major renovations and improvements in recent months, including an update to its outward appearance and the installation of two rooflights.

These upgrades, however, were carried out without planning consent, causing owner Sajid Hussain to bid for retrospective permission, which stated an intention to turn it into an Asian women’s clothing shop, next door to his Kebabish takeaway.

But this brief moment as a boutique appears to be over, following Blackburn with Darwen Council’s approval of an application to pivot the proposed clothing business into a late-night dessert bar.

A new applicant, Debra Mallik, asked the council for permission to change the use of the premises into a café that could operate from 8am until 11pm.

A submitted menu for the new business reveals that they plan to serve everything from full English breakfasts to aloo flatbreads, with vanilla macchiatos and hazelnut cappuccinos also on offer.

The application for a Certificate of Lawful Development also details plans for a new ground-floor layout, with the creation of a large dessert bar and a seven-table seating area.

The new cafe and dessert bar will have a large dessert bar and around 13 tables over its two floors (Image: Blackburn with Darwen Council))

On the first floor, there will also be a milkshake counter and six further tables.

However, due to changes to the use classification system brought in under the previous Conservative government, the planning officer ruled that the applicant did not require permission to change the purpose of the premises.

Amendments implemented in 2020 placed a wide range of retail businesses into one classification, ‘Commercial, Business and Service’.

This ‘Class E’ category applied to the opticians that previously occupied the unit for around 25 years.

It also applies to hot food operations, which fall under Class E (b), as the changes were brought in to allow the country’s high streets to better respond to consumer demand and economic changes.

Consequently, Blackburn planners ruled: “The proposed use is considered to fall within use Class E, and therefore the Lawful Development Certificate should be granted.”