A pizza chain has had its plans for expansion rejected by a local council who say the town’s children are ‘too fat.’. Woody’s Pizza, a takeaway chain which currently operates two stores in the north-west, had applied for permission to open a third in the town of Bacup, 25 miles from Manchester.
Image Credit: Metro [An aerial view of the village of Bacup in Lancashire. Plans for a takeaway on a high street have been rejected after council bosses said children in the area are too fat. Independent chain Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. 08/01/25 . Release date ??? January 9, 2025. An independent takeaway's chains plans for expansion have been thwarted by council bosses who said children in the area are too fat. Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. Owner Colum Hustler had asked for permission to take over the site of a former cafe and wine bar which permanently closed earlier this year. The takeaway chain says it uses ???minimal salt and sugar??? in its recipes and would buy its ingredients from the town???s local market. But council bosses have thwarted the expansion plans, saying it contravened local plans as children in the area are too fat. Previous plans to replace an ice cream and dessert shop on the same road with a hot food takeaway were also refused for the same reasons back in 2023.]
The Lancashire takeaway chain, which stressed it uses ‘minimal salt and sugar,’ had vowed to buy ingredients from Bacup’s local market as part of its application. But Rossendale Borough Council’s bosses rejected the proposal, arguing it would not align with their plans for the town – where kids are apparently already too fat.
Image Credit: Metro
They too claimed that the new takeaway would ‘not do justice to a heritage building’ and ‘add anything to the diversity on offer in Bacup.’. Claire Bradley, the council’s economic development officer, opposed the plan, saying a new pizza takeaway ‘adds nothing’ to the food and drink offering of the town.
Image Credit: Metro [Plans for a takeaway on a high street have been rejected after council bosses said children in the area are too fat. Independent chain Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. 08/01/25 . Release date ??? January 9, 2025. An independent takeaway's chains plans for expansion have been thwarted by council bosses who said children in the area are too fat. Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. Owner Colum Hustler had asked for permission to take over the site of a former cafe and wine bar which permanently closed earlier this year. The takeaway chain says it uses ???minimal salt and sugar??? in its recipes and would buy its ingredients from the town???s local market. But council bosses have thwarted the expansion plans, saying it contravened local plans as children in the area are too fat. Previous plans to replace an ice cream and dessert shop on the same road with a hot food takeaway were also refused for the same reasons back in 2023.]
She highlighted the council’s approach to takeaways and highlighted that one in five 11-year-olds in the area, the Greensclough Ward, are classed as obese. The rejection was supported by two public comments from figures in the area. The council’s rules state it will not not support any planning permission for further hot food takeaways – of which there are currently 26 in Bacup – in any areas where more than 15 percent of Year 6 pupils or 10 percent of Reception pupils are classified as obese.
![[An aerial view of the village of Bacup in Lancashire. Plans for a takeaway on a high street have been rejected after council bosses said children in the area are too fat. Independent chain Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. 08/01/25 . Release date ??? January 9, 2025. An independent takeaway's chains plans for expansion have been thwarted by council bosses who said children in the area are too fat. Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. Owner Colum Hustler had asked for permission to take over the site of a former cafe and wine bar which permanently closed earlier this year. The takeaway chain says it uses ???minimal salt and sugar??? in its recipes and would buy its ingredients from the town???s local market. But council bosses have thwarted the expansion plans, saying it contravened local plans as children in the area are too fat. Previous plans to replace an ice cream and dessert shop on the same road with a hot food takeaway were also refused for the same reasons back in 2023.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235428475-5f26.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Plans for a takeaway on a high street have been rejected after council bosses said children in the area are too fat. Independent chain Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. 08/01/25 . Release date ??? January 9, 2025. An independent takeaway's chains plans for expansion have been thwarted by council bosses who said children in the area are too fat. Woody???s Pizza, which operates two locations in Lancashire, wanted to open a third site in the town of Bacup. Owner Colum Hustler had asked for permission to take over the site of a former cafe and wine bar which permanently closed earlier this year. The takeaway chain says it uses ???minimal salt and sugar??? in its recipes and would buy its ingredients from the town???s local market. But council bosses have thwarted the expansion plans, saying it contravened local plans as children in the area are too fat. Previous plans to replace an ice cream and dessert shop on the same road with a hot food takeaway were also refused for the same reasons back in 2023.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235428477-e6e4.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
