Wetherspoons given all clear to open pub at popular Sheffield out-of-town leisure complex
Pub chain Wetherspoons has been given the all clear to open a new pub at one of Sheffield’s best known leisure complexes.
Sheffield Council has granted the company planning permission to transform what had previously been a restaurant at Valley Centertainment, near Sheffield Arena in the Don Valley.
It means the pub chain can change what was previously the Chiquito restaurant into one its pubs, which are known for their cheap pints.
But the council has told Wetherspoons that it must submit details of raised planters, portable walls and barriers that they want to put around its outdoor seating area, to be approved separately, before they put them in place. This is to make sure the authority is happy with how the pub is going to look.
The branch of Chiquito that the pub would will replace was one of a number of venues shut by The Restaurant Group in a wave of closures two years ago.
However, the planning approval means JD Wetherspoon can now change the site from being restaurant to a ‘mixed use restaurant and Public House’.
It will involve the company carrying out external alterations including seating and landscaping.
A document accompanying the planning application, from town planning consultants Carney Sweeney, states: “The unit was previously in use as a restaurant and is currently vacant, offering an opportunity to bring the premises back into active use in a way that supports the local economy and enhances the vitality of the area.
“This proposal seeks to establish a flexible food and drink offer that supports both dining and social drinking. This dual use is intended to respond to shifting consumer demands and support the sustainable reuse of an existing commercial unit.”
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They added: “The change of use will allow the occupation of the vacant unit by Wetherspoons and does not involve any expansion of the site area or a significant increase in the number of employees.”
Valley Centertainment, which opened in 1998, is a major leisure site in Sheffield, next to Broughton Lane, with a tram stop on the same line that serves Meadowhall.
Among its attractions are a cinema, a bowling alley and a soft play centre, as well as a number of restaurants, and a large number of parking spaces.