Grill hut owners remain defiant in planning row

The owners of a gourmet burger bar that opened in a pub car park in Leyland and was then told it could no longer continue trading from the site have vowed to stay open and keep fighting.

- by Emma Downey

Smokies, which specialises in 'smashed' gourmet burgers, lost a retrospective bid for planning permission for its outlet in the grounds of Dunkirk Hall after the council cited it was too close to schools.

The authority's planning committee concluded that the venture fell foul of new national legislation designed to prevent takeaways setting up within “walking distance” of school gates - unless the businesses are in designated town centre areas.