Agenda item

Person to contact:                                    Development Control Manager

                                                                        Tel: (01452) 396783

The Development Control Manager presented the report which detailed an application for change of use of premises from hairdresser to taxi office with taxi parking at Julian Rogers Autoservices at 107, Eastgate Street.

He advised Members that the application was retrospective and referred to the late material which contained an additional representation objecting to taxis parking in Kings Barton Street and a representation from Councillor Dallimore.

He noted that the premises had had the benefit of Class A2 use which had now lapsed, there were no flooding issues as the built footprint was unchanged and there were no objections from Environmental Health.

He advised that the majority of points raised by Andy Cabs were not material planning considerations. The Licensing Team had been monitoring the business and had not reported any concerns.

Councillor Noakes expressed concern that the business had been described as a taxi and private hire service when in fact it was solely a private hire operator.

AzamChoudry, applicant, addressed the committee in support of the application.

Mr Choudry advised Members that the shop premises had been vacant and he required premises for an office and had been able to rent parking spaces from Julian Roberts Autoservices at night.

His business was very busy but he believed that the noise in the area was mainly attributable to the large number of fast food delivery drivers and other company’s vehicles. He had instructed his drivers not to park on double yellow lines and was trying to comply fully with the law.

Neil Mackie addressed the Committee in opposition to the application.

Mr Mackie drew Members’ attention to the fact that the business was a private hire operator that operated three vehicles that were regularly parked on double yellow lines.

He stated that Andy Cabs positively welcomed competition but expressed concerns that the additional traffic would add to the congestion of Kings Barton Street which was blocked and became a one way street on Friday and Saturday nights. He expressed concern that emergency vehicles may be unable to access the street which comprised mainly of old buildings with a higher fire risk. He believed that the operation would devalue properties in the area.

He noted that the operation would require passengers to be picked on double yellow lines and that was prohibited by the Council’s rules.

He reiterated that competition was welcomed if within the law and the Council’s rules but residents had genuine concerns.

He referred to the nuisance suffered by residents particularly on Friday and Saturday nights, specifically door slamming, engine noise and people shouting and he believed that the protection of residents should be the responsibility and primary objective of the Council.

Councillor Chatterton queried whether use of the car park car park after midnight was permitted and he was advised that such use would be in breach of Condition 2. The Chair suggested that an additional condition be imposed specifically detailing the permitted hours of operation.

Councillor Dee expressed concern at the location of the car park and was advised that the car park was intended for vehicles to wait before proceeding to pick up passengers.

The Chair expressed concerns regarding vehicle noise in Kings Barton Street but acknowledged that there had been no Environmental Health or Highways objections.

Councillor Smith noted that the Committee could not take into consideration the potential devaluation of property. She believed that one full time and two part-time vehicles would not cause large problems and difficulties caused by other drivers were not a matter for the Committee.

Councillor Chatterton expressed concern that granting permission to the application would condone picking up passengers on double yellow parking restrictions.

The Solicitor advised Members to apply the policy framework consistently. He believed that there were no grounds to refuse the application that would stand up on appeal and other matters could be dealt with by the Police or the Council’s Licensing Team.

Councillor McLellan expressed concern that the number of vehicles could increase. He was advised that the application was primarily concerned with the change of use of the premises and it would be difficult to control the number of vehicles by condition which could be considered a restraint on trade.

The Solicitor advised that should the applicant be unable to provide the level of service he wished with the number of parking spaces available he would have to consider making a further application.

Councillor Hanman referred to Councillor Dallimore’s representations and he questioned whether the Committee would ignore the views of the local community. The Solicitor advised that the Planning Committee was required to consider only the material planning considerations of the application.

Councillor Noakes believed that the application would have a negative impact on residents as following the Eastgate Street closures, passengers would use the residential area to be picked up.

Councillor Hobbs asked if the permission could be made personal to Mr Choudry and was advised that this was not possible but a condition could be imposed to limit use to a private hire operator.

Members requested that a letter be sent to the applicant requesting that he remove the word ‘Taxi’ from his signage to avoid confusion and that the Licensing Team and the Police be advised of Members’ concerns.

RESOLVED that planning permission be granted subject to the conditions in the report and the imposition of additional conditions relating to:

1)         specification of the hours of operation

2)         confirmation that the use restricted to private hire only, and not taxis.