Shipping container café ordered to be removed

A business has been ordered to remove a shipping container café next to a busy Bradford road after a government inspector dismissed an appeal to keep it there.

Retrospective planning permission was refused for the installation of a shipping container on a terrace next to a shop on Horton Park Avenue, Bradford, in 2024.

Faisal Sheikh applied to turn the site into a café, along with using the container as a seating and serving space for the new business.

After Bradford Council planners refused the application, the government planning inspector backed the local authority's original decision.

Highways officers had concerns about the extra traffic the café would attract to the busy road, with the lack of parking a key issue.

Mr Sheikh appealed the decision, arguing customers were likely to park in a large new car park on the opposite side of Horton Park Avenue rather than next to the business.

But the government planning inspector highlighted existing parking issues at the location before the business had even opened, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

"Its height, form, design, and the materials at the front are wholly at odds with the traditional character and appearance of the buildings it is seen immediately in context with," the inspector said.

"There could be activities and general comings and goings from customers late into the evening when nearby residents would reasonably expect a degree of peace and quiet."

They concluded: "While there are positive aspects of the scheme, they do not outweigh the significant harm I have identified."

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