Cafe planned after Wolverhampton shop ordered to take down marquee
A new cafe and takeaway could be built on land behind an Indian sweet shop in Wolverhampton after its owners were told to take down an unauthorised marquee.
Amritsar Sweets and Catering in Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, installed the marque behind its Blakenhall shop without planning permission in early 2022 but was told to take it down by City of Wolverhampton Council last year.
The new planning application by Mahinder Singh includes plans to build a 20-seat cafe and takeaway behind Amritsar Sweets in Dudley Road with an entrance from Sedgley Road.
A planning application by the sweet shop owners asking for ‘retrospective’ permission to allow the marquee to remain was rejected by City of Wolverhampton Council in January.
The owners then appealed to the government’s planning inspectors in a bid to get the decision overturned but were turned down again.
City of Wolverhampton Council’s planners said the marquee was “out of scale” and made from “poor-quality materials” that “detracted from the appearance and character of the street.”
The local authority added that congestion was already a problem in Dudley Road and parking was at a premium.
The marquee could accommodate around 70 people and up to two private functions would be held a week, the restaurant said. The number of guests would be limited to 30 and no alcohol would be served or music played.
But the council said the marquee would add to existing problems if it was allowed to stay.
Amritsar Sweets and Catering opened in 2020 and the marquee was erected in early 2022 according to the application.
The council’s planners said the marquee caused “significant noise and disturbance” for neighbours.
“The nearby car parking layby at the front of the premises is also very heavily subscribed serving the wide array of existing businesses, and no additional parking provisions have been proposed in relation to the amount of vehicle-related traffic,” the council added.
Reaffirming the rejection, the planning inspector said: “The surrounding road network has a relatively high volume of on-street parking and likely would remain at a high level for the duration of the proposed opening hours […] and is likely to result in unsafe parking.
“It has not been adequately demonstrated, to my mind, that the design and lightweight materials used in the development are sufficient to adequately contain noise.”
