PLANS by beachside restaurant Urban Reef to open a takeaway next door have been approved by councillors.

The business, on Boscombe beach, applied to change the use of the adjacent former Seafront Services office to a 'hot food takeaway', install kitchen equipment and build an external seating area, as well as adding a retractable canopy to its own frontage.

At a meeting on Tuesday members of Bournemouth council's planning board voted unanimously in favour of the plans, which received 10 letters of objection from residents concerned about noise and odour.

Ward councillor Philip Stanley-Watts, who voted in favour of the plans, said: "This should bring extra foot-fall to Boscombe and more people down to the beach in that area.

"Businesses like this should be supported, and I expect the Coastal Activity Park to have a lot more events in future.

"I can remember when this was a derelict site, a lot has changed since then."

The report prepared by council officers, which recommended approval, deemed there would no "significant increase in noise levels" for the nearest homes - the Honeycombe Chine flats - stating that the new takeaway would be closed between 11pm and 8am.

Regarding the beach pods above Urban Reef in the Overstrand building, the report said: "whilst it is likely that there would be some increase in noise, the pod is over an existing commercial premises and very close to an existing restaurant/bar with which the tenant would have been aware of (sic) when they purchased the pod."

The environmental health officer and several residents raised concerns about the possible smell of cooking food from the kitchen extractor system, and others were concerned about litter and a supposed over-abundance of such facilities in the area.

The plans include a wood oven for the new annex allowing customers at the main restaurant to order 'bar food' after 6pm.

The council's Seafront Services/Coastal Activity Park office is moving into a different office in the Overstrand building.