Plans for new Victoria Road restaurant approved

The sandstone tenement at 433 Victoria Road used to be a charity shop but had lain empty since March 2020 and appeared to be contributing to the decline of the local town centre.

Momin Rabbani applied for planning permission to bring the shop back to life by changing it from a retail unit to a restaurant with 40 booths and a takeaway.

A planning statement submitted to councillors by Bennett Developments and Consulting explained that if approved, the restaurant would open from Sunday to Thursday from 10am until 11pm and Friday and Saturday from 10am until midnight.

Deterioration

In the past Victoria Road has been a well established street offering a wide range of goods and services to the community and people using Queen’s Park.

The developer felt that over the last 20 years the area’s market has deteriorated due to increased parking restrictions and the increased number of cycle lanes which have led to a number of empty buildings.

The recent pandemic has also contributed to the decline and Victoria Road is now but a shadow of its former self.

Approval

During the Glasgow City Council planning applications committee yesterday, concerns were raised about ventilation systems of the proposed restaurant and how odours from the kitchen would affect neighbours.

Councillor Ken Andrew said: “I am minded to amend the recommendations and refuse the application so we can look at other solutions to see if there is an internal line in the chimney [ to get rid of cooking smells].”

Other politicians did not agree with the councillor and following a brief discussion the application was approved.