A NEW Kilwinning chip shop was knocked back due to being too far away from the town centre.

A bid to build the hot food takeaway to the side of shop unit 1-3 Gagarin Terrace including a ventilation flue was refused last week – with planners also citing negative affect on surrounding areas as well as its “town centre first” policy for development.

North Ayrshire Council’s report of handling stated: “The application site refers to a small retail building within the residential area at Gagarin Terrace, Kilwinning. The building is occupied by a small local shop and comprises of a single storey detached structure with a mono-pitched roof.

“The application site is located in the middle of a residential area. As noted above, it is located about 600m from the town centre or a 5-10-minute walk. At present, Kilwinning town centre suffers from high levels of vacant retail and commercial units which can, at least in part, be attributed to the availability of out-of-town retail.

“Although the proposed development is potentially acceptable in terms of its scale and design, as it is contrary to the town centre first principle, it would not meet the qualities of successful placemaking.

“The surrounding area to the application site is primarily residential in character and appearance, with the exception of the existing retail unit at the application site.

“It is not considered that the application site is of adequate distance away from Kilwinning Town Centre to justify the siting of a hot food takeaway in this location.

“Similarly, it is considered that the siting of a hot food takeaway facility within a primarily residential area would be inappropriate and would adversely impact on the residential character and amenity of the surrounding area.

“The proposal does not accord with the relevant policies of the Local Development Plan.”