WEYMOUTH’S Gurkha Restaurant has been given permission to run a take-away business.

The Commercial Road restaurant, in the shape of a boat, off the Melcombe Regis car park, had requested a change of use to operate as both a restaurant and a hot food take away.

When permission is granted the business will be reminded of the need to keep the area free of litter.

Cllr Kate Wheller told the area planning committee that the while not all the rubbish in the area could be attributed to the business its staff should ensure that its own rubbish was contained within an enclosed area.

She said that during a site visit rubbish could clearly be seen, including floating in the adjoining water.

“This is an environmentally sensitive area, managed by the RSPB, a bird area in the middle of an urban area which is quite rare…

“This is an environment site, a Swannery, and people come to look at the birds, not rubbish,” she told the online planning committee.

Cllr Wheller said the restaurant had a bin storage area, but its rubbish was not always kept in it.

The committee rejected the idea of making the management of rubbish in the area a part of the planning consent, after hearing from the council’s solicitor. He suggested not making it a condition of planning because of the difficulties in enforcing that, although councillors agreed that a suitable guidance note be added to the permission about keeping the area tidy.

The new consent limits opening hours from 10am until midnight, similar to other food outlets in the area.