Glasgow pizza spot in row with council over warmth of slices

A Partick pizzeria is insisting slices are sold cold unless just baked, as it appeals against a council order to stop running a “hot food takeaway”.

Glasgow City Council has said Sear’s Pizza does not have the appropriate planning permission to operate from its Chancellor Street venue.

Officers issued an enforcement notice in July which states the “unauthorised” use must stop, but the popular pizza shop is arguing the council has misclassified its business model.

An appeal, on behalf of Sear’s, has been lodged with the Scottish Government, claiming the model involves the “sale of pizzas, usually slices, which unless just baked will be cold” — “not dissimilar to Greggs”.

Council officials, however, do not consider the “temperature of the food at the precise moment of sale is determinative of the planning character of the use”.

The Scottish Government is expected to appoint an independent reporter to assess the case, and a target date of November 13 has been set for a decision.

Sear’s Pizza, which has been open in Partick since September 2024, had an application for a change of use from a shop (Class 1A) to a café (Class 3) rejected in November that year.

Earlier this year, after an investigation, the council decided there has been an “unauthorised change of use from Class 1A (shops) to a hot food takeaway (sui generis), without planning permission”.

The enforcement notice added the use has an “adverse impact” on neighbours through noise, activity and disturbance and “contributes to an overconcentration of food and drink uses within the street frontage”.

Sear’s appeal states the model is “no different from a bakery selling baked goods and that falls within use class 1A”. It adds Greggs is not defined as a hot food takeaway but “a range of hot baked goods is a significant aspect of their operation”.

The pizzeria is very popular with the large student population in the area and has been frequented by a number of well-known celebrities, including James McAvoy and Lewis Capaldi.

It concludes: “The facts are quite clear in that the business model involves the selling of slices of cold pizza, a range of cookies/cakes and biscuits and a range of soft drinks, and has seating available for those who may wish to use it which perfectly describes the Class 1A/Class 3 café and is no different from Greggs, which operates as a Class 1A use.

“It would seem abundantly clear that as the produce for sale is cold, that it can hardly be described as a hot food takeaway (sui generis).”

A council response to the appeal states the operation “involves the preparation and baking of pizzas on the premises using cooking equipment provided for that purpose”.

It continues: “Comparisons with operators such as Greggs and Subway carry limited weight in the determination of this appeal. Such businesses occupy a wide range of premises, each with their own planning history, permissions, lawful use, physical characteristics and operational arrangements.

“The fact that another premises may trade under a similar business model does not, in itself, determine the planning character of the use taking place at the appeal site.”

The council adds the appeal states that “100% of custom is takeaway, that seated dining is not provided as an option and that the limited seating is more normally used by customers waiting to be served”.

“These characteristics weigh strongly in favour of the use being characterised as a hot food takeaway rather than a café.”