The decision to reject plans for a fourth pizza restaurant in Wantage has been greeted as “fantastic news” by a resident.

Vale of White Horse District Council refused an application by Magnos Pizza to convert the former Umami delicatessen on Newbury Street into a hot-food take-away outlet selling pizzas and kebabs.

“It’s fantastic news," said Ben Mabbett, who lives nearby. 

"The last thing that Wantage needs is another pizza shop."

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If approved, the restaurant would have joined other pizza shops in the town including Domino's, Caprinos, and Papa Johns.

When the application was made, residents claimed another takeaway outlet would have worsened late-night drunken behaviour and traffic issues in the town.

The owners also wanted to install a commercial-size pizza oven and kebab-making equipment, which prompted fears of smells affecting nearby properties.

The solicitors who represented the restaurant said the smell would have been mitigated by a “modern canopy” and claimed there were already restaurants in the immediate vicinity which meant that “smell should not be a concern”.

But planning officer Holly Bates recommended planning permission was refused because of concerns over noise and odour from the extraction equipment.

The council agreed and refused the plans on Monday, August 7.

Mr Mabbett said: “There’s a limit to what the council can do stipulate what goes in where but anything that the council can further do to encourage some more diversity in the shops and restaurants that we have in Wantage can only be a good thing.”