An Oakham town councillor has won the support of planners to change a former deli into a wine bar.

The application from Chris Nix concerning Unit 2-3, Knights Yard, Gaol Street, is due to come before a meeting off Rutland Council's Planning and Licensing Committee tonight.

Its members will determine the application as the county council has received some objections to the scheme and its chairman has called for it.

A report by council planning staff said: "The proposed use is an appropriate for the town centre, and would contribute to its vitality and viability. Conditions are imposed to ensure that hours of use and music level is controlled, in the interest of surrounding amenity."

Recommending approval, it continued: "The premises shall not be used for the purposes approved other than between the hours of 12:00 and 23:00 Monday to Saturday, and not open for customers at all on Sundays and bank holidays.

"Reason: To ensure that as far as possible the proposed use does not become a source of annoyance to the nearby residents."

As previously reported by Nub News, the application site was previously the former Hambleton fine foods butcher/deli.

It is located in Oakham Town Centre, within the conservation area, and forms part of the Knights Yard retail redevelopment site that was undertaken in the mid-2000s.

The site is the ground floor unit; above the site on the first floor is Oakham Dental Studio, and no. 8 Knights Yard (Witblitz Limited and Divorce Mediation Limited)

The council report noted opposition saying the scheme should only cover the ground floor and it would take away retail space. But the county council had also received 25 statements of support.

Oakham Town Council said it could not comment as Mr Nix is a town councillor.

Rutland County Council's planning and Licensing Committee is due to determine this and other planning applications when it meets tonight from 7pm.

The agenda can be found here.