Lymington Community Centre wins consent from New Forest District Council to expand its cafe
Plans to build a larger cafe at Lymington’s community centre have been given the go ahead.
As reported by the A&T, district council planners previously approved the partial demolition and extension of the building in New Street to accommodate new toilets and allow for improvements to the first-floor lift.
A subsequent application to place solar panels on the centre’s roof was also approved.
Now NFDC has approved plans, submitted late last year, to increase the cafe’s floor space by an extra 89 square metres and create an access from the centre’s cinema room.
As part of the application, the maximum height of the building’s new extension will also be lowered to reduce the “pitch” of the roof form.
In a design and access statement, the applicant told NFDC: “The reason for the change is driven by the viability of the centre cafe as a hub for the Lymington Community Centre and indeed an amenity for the town centre.
“The proposed use of the centre cafe has had to be reviewed in the light of the aftermath of the Covid pandemic.
“To ensure that it has a robust business plan for a secure future it will need to host a much wider range of functions. This will only be possible if it is enlarged so as to accommodate more end users and customers.”
Planning chiefs approved the proposal for increased cafe floor space on the condition that development begins within the next three years.
The centre will also need to obtain written approval from the council for the type of external facing and roofing materials, and provide details about hard landscaping.