Pizza chain expansion plans thwarted by council because town’s kids are ‘too fat’

A pizza chain has had its plans for expansion rejected by a local council who say the town’s children are ‘too fat.’

Woody’s Pizza, a takeaway chain which currently operates two stores in the north-west, had applied for permission to open a third in the town of Bacup, 25 miles from Manchester.

The Lancashire takeaway chain, which stressed it uses ‘minimal salt and sugar,’ had vowed to buy ingredients from Bacup’s local market as part of its application.

But Rossendale Borough Council’s bosses rejected the proposal, arguing it would not align with their plans for the town – where kids are apparently already too fat.

They too claimed that the new takeaway would ‘not do justice to a heritage building’ and ‘add anything to the diversity on offer in Bacup.’

Claire Bradley, the council’s economic development officer, opposed the plan, saying a new pizza takeaway ‘adds nothing’ to the food and drink offering of the town.

She highlighted the council’s approach to takeaways and highlighted that one in five 11-year-olds in the area, the Greensclough Ward, are classed as obese.

The rejection was supported by two public comments from figures in the area.

The council’s rules state it will not not support any planning permission for further hot food takeaways – of which there are currently 26 in Bacup – in any areas where more than 15 percent of Year 6 pupils or 10 percent of Reception pupils are classified as obese.

In the Greensclough ward area however, where Bacup is situated, 20 per cent of Year 6 pupils and 11.6 per cent of Reception age pupils are obese.

For that very reason, two other takeaway expansion proposals in the area have already been rejected.

Locals have now hit back at the council’s thwarting of expansion plans, arguing the town’s children are ‘slim.’

Resident Eric Hallwell, 75, said: ‘I don’t think there is an issue. The children are all right, I’ve seen children and I haven’t seen anything that’s obese.

‘They’re slim, they have boxing gyms and everything, so why worry?

‘The more business you get, the more people will come, you need to get people to come into Bacup, not go out of Bacup.

‘If they don’t come here they’ll go somewhere else, they’ll always find somewhere.’

Mr Hallwell too criticised his ‘boring’ home.

He added: ‘They haven’t got anything have they, kids, they haven’t got anything anywhere, nowhere to play, nothing to do. It’s boring for them.

‘Even when they’re not at school, they’ll do damage before they’ll do any good. They need somewhere to go.’

Sarah O’Neill, who co-owns Nellie’s cafe just a few doors down from the site where Woody’s wanted to open, wants to expand her store into a takeaway which serves ‘healthy food.’

She said: ‘I do think people should be given a chance to actually open up with healthy food, I do think there is room for somebody to do healthy takeaways.

‘We could actually apply and we may get a ‘no,’ but you just don’t know.

‘Because we would be doing healthy food, I’d be kind of shocked because people want healthy food, home-made food.

‘You’re not putting it on a grill with loads of oil, it’s healthy, home made food.

‘I think I’d probably apply again and fight against it.’

Woody’s released a statement outlining their disappointment at the news.

It read: ‘We are like no other takeaway. We don’t do dirty oil, we don’t do huge extractions, late nights and delivery drivers pulling up on our kerb.

”We buy direct from our market in Todmorden and Hebden Bridge, always have and always will.

‘We intend to buy direct from Bacup Market too as per our model of supporting local markets and businesses.

‘We are different, we are a credit to our community and they love us. Please allow us to come to Bacup and carry on our journey.’

In a notice published on December 16, Rossendale Council refused planning permission, on the grounds of there being too many obese children in the town, and that it would “detract to an unacceptable extent from the living conditions of residents living in the vicinity of the site”.

Rossendale Borough Council has been contacted for comment.

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