Belly Busters catering van gets official permission despite objections

Belly Busters catering van has been given retrospective permission to trade in a layby off the A442 despite opposition to smells and noise.

Applicant Pamela Debney has been told to submit official reports on how possible smells and noise will be dealt with at the layby off on the road north of Shawbirch roundabout.

One of two objectors told planners at Telford & Wrekin Council that they “understand the importance of local businesses and street food vendors” but “I can see the presence of this van having significant impact on my family’s quality of life.”

The van sits in the layby on the other side of the road from properties that are at least 30m away.

Both objectors wrote of the “constant drone of the generator” being a “ persistent source of noise pollution, disrupting the peaceful enjoyment of my home.

“The noise is audible from early morning until late afternoon, making it challenging for me to relax or concentrate.

“Furthermore, the smell of cooking oil and fat from the van permeates my property, creating an unpleasant and unhealthy environment.

An 80 year old pensioner wrote to “express my strong objection”

“The arrival of this food van has significantly disrupted our quality of life.

“As elderly residents, we are more susceptible to the negative impacts of noise and air pollution.

“We kindly request that you consider our objection and take necessary steps to address the issues raised.”

Planners at Telford & Wrekin Council decided to allow trading to take place from the van, which is 12ft long, 7ft wide and 7ft high, from 7am to 3pm from Monday to Saturday. No working will be allowed on Sunday and public/bank holidays.

Planners have given the traders two months to submit noise and odour impact assessments to detail “any required mitigation measures” which must be introduced two months after council approval.

In their assessment, planning officials said they consider “that the scale and design of the catering unit is acceptable; the catering unit will be minor in scale, would remain in keeping with and would not detrimentally harm the character and appearance of the application site and its surrounding area.”

They added that concerns raised have been “considered at length”.

“Officers must firstly point out that there is a considerable separation distance between the catering unit and nearby residential properties in this instance, which is approximately 50 metres,” the officers said.

“Whilst the distance between the catering unit and the boundary line of nearby properties is less, this is still approximately 30 metres and the catering van is separated from the nearby residential properties by the A442; it is not therefore considered likely that the proposal would lead to significantly detrimental harm.

“This being said, officers have included two suitably worded conditions on this decision notice.”

The applicant had also wanted to trade from 6am to 3pm Monday to Saturday but officials trimmed the start time back to 7am “to ensure no significantly detrimental harm occurs in the very early hours of the morning.”