Pizza takeaway outside school despite fears over health impacts

DOMINO'S Pizza will be opening its latest outlet outside a Somerset secondary school after plans were approved by local councillors.

- DANIEL MUMBY Local democracy journalist

The company applied to open its latest Somerset outlet at Saxon Place off the A371 Station Road in Cheddar - yards from the entrance to Kings Academy (formerly Kings of Wessex Academy).

The plans were roundly condemned by both Cheddar Parish Council and Kings Academy headteacher Joanne Cowper, who argued the proximity of the outlet would put pupils “at real risk” of obesity and undermine their academic work.

But Somerset Council's planning committee north voted by a wide margin to back the plans when it met in Bridgwater on Tuesday afternoon (October 14).

The site comprises units 5 and 6 of Saxon Place (near the village’s Tesco Express store), which were previously occupied by Factory Bargains before its relocation nearby.

The front of unit 5 will serve as the customer entrance, with the food being prepared and cooked on the ground floor while the first floor of the two units will be used for office space.

The business will be open from 11am to 11pm daily, creating ten full-time and 15 part-time jobs for local residents.