Plan for Walsall dessert shop turned down due to fears over cooking smell
A proposal to turn a hairdressers into a new dessert shop and cafe have been thrown out due to fears the cooking smells would upset neighbours.
Walsall Council planning officers rejected an application to convert the small premises on Mouse Hill in Pelsall into an eatery called Ace Desserts and Cafe.
The unit was originally part of the neighbouring convenience store until it was separated and redeveloped into a standalone unit around 18 months ago.
It was most recently used as a hairdressers but applicant Abinaya Sivakumar was hoping to create the dessert-led business which would house up to just six customers at a time.
But officers said the cooking smells emanating from the premises would have a negative impact on the neighbouring properties.
They also raised concerns about noise coming from the proposed cafe’s extraction fan system while planned changes to the property were not in keeping with the local area.
The application said: “The proposed change of use is for a very small café, it’s scale is appropriate to the location and venue.
“There are no units of equal size available in the village centre, which are affordable to the occupant and the scale of the business they wish to pursue.
“The size and scale of the business are highly unlikely to threaten business in the local centre of Pelsall or the wider borough.
“The business is to operate as a dessert shop, and the nearest dessert shop / café of the same nature is located in Bloxwich which is not within walking distance for people living within Pelsall.
“The proposal will benefit the local community in the west of Pelsall by providing a café that can be easily walked to, especially elderly and less mobile residents that struggle to walk into the village centre.
“Should visitors come from further afield there are two bus stops conveniently located directly adjacent to the application site.”
