A BUTCHER's shop in Burnley which has gradually become a take-away during the last 18 months has been refused permission to sell hot food.

Hennessy Butchers, in Parliament Street, applied for the retention of use of the shop for the sale of hot food but were refused on the grounds that it would be detrimental to the residential amenity of the area, a breach of the Council's Hot Food Take-Away Policy and would affect an area already heavily congested by traffic.

The shop was selling hot and cold sandwiches, breakfasts and a limited range of hot food lunches.

Owner of nearby Belfield's Fish Bar, Lynda Fielding, spoke out against the application at the Development Control Sub-Committee meeting.

She said: "The approval of this application could give the green light to all the other businesses who have been selling hot food for a period of time."

She said residents had complained before about the traffic problems on Parliament Street and that this would add to the problem.

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