A downtown beauty salon is being turned into a dog grooming salon.
Timothy Smith of Great Harwood has applied for planning permission to alter the use of corner premises in Whalley Road, Accrington. The currently vacant premises became a nail bar and beauty salon in September 2015.
Documents submitted with the application to Hyndburn Council state: ‘The site is an existing beauty salon on Whalley Road, a northern thoroughfare in Accrington town centre. The store is located on a busy side street within a group of local shops.
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“No external changes are proposed. Internal changes would only affect furniture and fittings.
“The floor space of 89.5 square meters is exactly the same as the existing premises. We don’t see any significant visual impact.
“In order to mitigate any noise disturbance, all floors and ceilings were upgraded for one hour fire resistance and sound insulation when the first floor apartment was created in 2007. The number of people required would be a maximum of four full-time equivalents.
“It is proposed to reduce opening hours from the current use of the approved schedule of Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays and public holidays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. No new landscaping is proposed.
“Level access will be provided at the main entrance. the store will be located in a bustling downtown shopping area. Parking is mainly in controlled bays on the side of the road.
“It is expected that fewer parking trips will be generated compared to previous usage, as it is more common to drop off a dog for grooming than to park for personal treatment. This should result in shorter parking.
Local Milnshaw ward councilor Paul Cox said: ‘If there’s a store left it’s a good new use. It is currently not in use.
“I don’t see any major problems as long as it respects all the town planning rules. It’s good to bring vacant premises back to life and relaunch businesses. Dog grooming is a growing field right now.
The premises are less than 50 meters from the nearest bus stop, less than 1.6 km from the nearest railway station and 3 km from the M65 motorway.