Owners of Smethwick food trailer lost bid to keep car park patch due to 'safety concerns'
A bid to keep a food trailer on a Smethwick car park has been lost after a government inspector threw out an appeal.
Sandwell Council rejected an application for temporary three-year permission to park the food trailer in one space at the eight-flat Cedar Court car park off Brasshouse Lane in Smethwick.
The council turned down the proposals saying the car park was not big enough to accommodate the food trailer and would pose a safety risk to both drivers and waiting customers.
The decision was appealed to a government planning inspector who had the power to overturn the ruling.
However, the inspector agreed with the council’s reasons for rejecting the application.
Last year, Sandwell Council’s planners said in their rejection: “The proposal and existing uses would require 14 off-street parking spaces however only ten spaces are allocated.
“Furthermore, the proposed food trailer will also decrease pedestrian visibility leaving the site along with increasing trip rates from the car park and increasing the risk to pedestrian safety.
“As a result, the proposal would impact the existing access for the neighbouring properties within the host estate, displace parking on to the street and creates risks to pedestrian safety.”
The government inspector agreed that not enough parking spaces would be provided and was concerned it would add to existing parking problems.
The inspector said the location of the trailer posed a “significant risk of harm to pedestrian safety” because exiting cars and waiting customers both would have a limited view of each other.
“Many of the roads in the vicinity of the appeal site have sections of double-yellow lines. There are some sections where it is possible to park on the street, however I noted that particularly along Brasshouse Lane, cars park partially on the pavement to accommodate two-way traffic on the road,” the inspector said.
“This narrows the available width of the pavement and whilst it was passable at the time of my visit, it would be challenging for wheelchair users or people with young children to comfortably navigate along the pavement in these areas.
“Customers who would visit by car, especially in the evening when most residents of the surrounding area would be at home, would find it challenging to park nearby.
“This would lead to more inappropriate parking in the area, including on the pavement which would result in harm to pedestrian safety.”
