Ashraf Bilal has been running his convenience store out of the former Lamb Inn in Failsworth since May, with a retrospective application now submitted to Oldham Council. The application has been submitted by Mr Bilal, who already owns several shops across the North West and has connections with Premier, Costcutter, and Go Local, according to a planning statement. The planning statement said that the Lamb Inn, on Oldham Road, had struggled to remain open, with multiple tenants unable to make the business viable. "The advertising was done via local Community contacts to try to get community involvement, but this was not taken up. "There are existing Public Houses within the area that meet the community use closer to the town centre of Middleton."