Plans for a new restaurant in East Renfrewshire will go under the spotlight today.

And, if approved, award-winning chef Marco Sarao could be in the kitchen later this year.

Gary Smith has applied to build a new eatery on the grounds of the Wardle and Sons garage, in Eaglesham.

East Renfrewshire’s planning chiefs will meet today to make a decision on whether to grant consent.

In a planning statement, Jewitt and Wilkie, on behalf of Mr Smith, who also owns The Swan, in Eaglesham, said: “After just over 20 years of operating, Wardle and Sons car repair workshop, at Gilmour Street, is to be closed for the retirement of the proprietor Alan Wardle and an alternative use as a restaurant is sought by the building owner, who has historical family ties with the site.

“The restaurant will be operated by award-winning chef Marco Sarao, who operates The Swan Inn public house and sees a great opportunity to provide further diversity of dining in a central location of the village.”

The garage on the site was originally built by James Steele, who is Mr Smith’s fifth great-grandfather.

It was passed down the family until the early 1900s, when it was sold to a livestock and transportation company, before being sold again last year.
East Renfrewshire Council’s director of environment, Andrew Cahill, has recommended that the application be approved by councillors.

But in his report, he said: “The use of the restaurant has the potential to result in disturbance to nearby residential properties, primarily as a result of opening hours later into the evening.

“Although the applicant has indicated intended opening hours until midnight each day, it is considered that this is too late, particularly when this is a new use and later opening hours are proposed than the existing garage.

“In order to strike a balance between the operational requirements of the restaurant business and to reduce the likelihood of noise nuisance to nearby residential properties, it is considered that the operating hours should be restricted to 10pm each day.

“This can be addressed by a planning condition, should this application be approved.”