Open air sex is risk to restaurant plans as gay group claim 'post dusk social networking' could be hit
Concerns have been raised that plans to open a riverboat restaurant on the River Nene in Northampton could clash with 'cruisers and cottagers' who indulge in open air sex in a nearby car park.
Members of Northampton Borough Council's panning committee will discuss plans to open the floating restaurant close to Midsummer Meadows, near Bedford Road, next week.
But in a report which will be shown to committee members, council planning officer, Richard Boyt, said both Northamptonshire Police and the Northants Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance (NLGBA) had raised concerns about allowing the restaurant to open in an area which is renowned for people taking part in outdoor sex sessions.
He warned councillors: "Northamptonshire Police have noted the potential clash with 'cruisers and cottagers' who frequent nearby areas."
Discussing similar concerns raised by the NLGBA, he added: "The NLGBA states that a commercial activity will harm the openness, the semi-natural character of the meadows, and the freedom of the area.
"Further they state that if the 'post dusk social networking' is displaced elsewhere this may be an area of concern."
Despite the concerns of the two groups, the planning official said their worries should not prevent the restaurant from opening and added that he believed it would actually improve the Midsummer Meadows area.
He said: "The objections regarding commercial activity in an open area and the displacement of current activities from the NLGBA are understood and noted.
"But they do not outweigh the importance and benefit of the improvements to public safety which introducing activity to this public open space will bring."
If the development is allowed, the floating restaurant would have three decks, be about 75ft long and 20ft tall.
The council's planning committee will make a final decision on the scheme next week, but Mr Boyt said he thought the scheme should be allowed.
He said: "The proposed restaurant will enhance the River Nene with a leisure destination that's in keeping with its surroundings and poses little or no threat to the vitality and viability of the town centre."
Plans for the floating restaurant were last considered in 2007, when it was suggested up to 60 people at a time could eat and drink onboard the boat. But the 2007 scheme was withdrawn to give the developers more time to consider their plans.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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