Green light for restaurant chain to progress with plan for new venue
The former Argos store in Huntingdon. Picture: CONTRIBUTED - Credit: Archant
A fast-growing restaurant chain has been given the green light to move in to Huntingdon, after plans submitted to the district council were approved.
Loungers, which has more than 100 venues across the UK, applied in November for an alcohol licence and permission to change the use of the former Argos store, in High Street.
Argos moved into the Huntingdon branch of Sainsbury’s in February last year.
Loungers was founded in 2002 in Bristol and has enjoyed rapid growth since then, with outlets in Birmingham, Nottingham, Peterborough, and Manchester among others.
In the application to Huntingdonshire District Council, the firm applied for permission to serve alcohol at the premises from 10am-11pm, Sunday to Wednesday, 10am-midnight, Thursday to Saturday, and 10am-1am on New Year’s Eve.
Its opening hours will be daily from 8am until 30 minutes after the end of its proposed alcohol licence times.
According to the plans, Loungers will have “a variety of board games available together with daily newspapers to read and a free neighbourhood book swap facility”.
Most Read
- 1 Police searching for missing man discover body
- 2 Car rolled in crash on A14
- 3 Two-day closure set for B661 between Great Staughton and Grafham Water
- 4 Sir John Major to answer questions at Infected Blood Inquiry
- 5 Jail for man who boasted he was the St Ives 'weed man'
- 6 John Major's 'bad luck' comment is 'absolutely disgraceful' says son of victim
- 7 Garden railway raises money for 3 Pillars
- 8 Eight Huntingdon children handed anti-social behaviour interventions
- 9 A charity football match involving a mixed Polish and Ukrainian team aims to raise funds for Ukraine
- 10 Huntingdon and Peterborough hospitals bring back masks after rise in Covid numbers
Approving the plans, Laura Fisher, senior planning officer at the district council, said in a report: “The application site is located within the town centre of Huntingdon, which is a sustainable and accessible location. There are a number of bus stops located within easy walking and cycling distance and there are surface and multi-storey car parks in close proximity.”
Speaking to the Hunts Post in November, a spokesman for Loungers said that, subject to securing successful planning consent, it proposed to open the venue in the spring.
