Council revokes planning permission for shipping container takeaway in Glasgow

Glasgow councillors were forced to carry out a dramatic u-turn and revoke planning permission for a shipping container to become a takeaway in a highly unusual move.

A bid to sell toasties, drinks, rolls and chips among other food from a plot at 120 Acre Road is now up in the air despite councillors giving it approval last month.

That decision has now been revoked after it emerged councillors were not told about an objection from a community council and given the wrong details regarding another objector.

Rabnawaz Hussain, who applied to the council for the takeaway in the Maryhill area, now plans to object to the bid to take away his permission, a meeting heard.

The planning committee, which gave approval, was not presented with the objection from Maryhill and Summerston community council at a meeting last month due to an admin delay. It has also come to the fore that another objection from the Acre Tenants and Residents Association was attributed to a single person rather than the group.

A planning official told a meeting yesterday that committee had made a decision “without the full facts being available” and said “mistakes have been made”.

He said legal advice found that the situation “potentially undermined the validity of the commitee’s decision”.

The official asked councillors if they were happy for the decision to stand or if they wanted to revoke it in light of the correction over the identify of objectors.

Councillor Martha Wardrop, Scottish Greens, said: “I’m very distressed for the objectors that their identity was not clear at the first meeting.”

She added: “It doesn’t inspire confidence in the planning process. I think clear lessons have to be learned from what has happened in terms of processing objections and how they are reported to committee.”

The official said: “A couple of mistakes have been made. We have to go through a remedial process.”

Pointing out how he felt sympathy for the objectors, Councillor Thomas Kerr, Conservative, said: “Mistakes do happen but this is a pretty big mistake that I think looks bad on the department.”

Praising officials for coming forward and putting their hands up, He said: “I think it is only fair we give you leeway and I think this is the first time this has ever happened so I think that is fair.”

He called for planning permission to remain in place.

Committee chair councillor Ken Andrew, SNP, said the situation is “absolutely unique” to him.

He said last month’s committee meeting was left with the impression that the community council had not placed an objection when in fact they had.

Councillor Andrew added: “In mitigation to our planning colleagues the route of their objection slightly confused things. They sent their objection through the planning enquiry portal, which is why it was not picked up as it would normally.”

He proposed a motion that permission be revoked, which was seconded by Scottish Greens councillor Elaine Gallagher.

Councillor Gallagher said during the previous meeting she would have “given weight to the fact” that several people had objected.

She added: “I second the motion that this should be returned to Scottish Ministers for review.”

Councillor Kerr said: “I would prefer we stick to the decision that was already made.”

Pointing out the small business would have been out of pocket pursuing planning for the takeaway, he said: “Because our planning department made a mistake we shouldn’t overturn this and put in more costs to a small business particularly during difficult economic times.”

He moved an amendment calling for the decision to stand seconded by Labour councillor Hanif Raja.

Following a vote it was decided that an order is to be made to the Scottish Government to revoke the decision.

A council report to the committee said: “It should be noted that both representations (objections) focused on matters of anti-social behaviour and litter which were topics raised by other representations and addressed in both the report and discussion at the committee meeting.”