Ground Floor Unit 7, Berkeley House, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B76 1NR

Committee Date: 18/09/2014 Application Number: 2014/05427/PA Accepted: 30/07/2014 Application Type: Full Planning Target Date: 24/09/2014 Ward: Sutton New Hall Ground Floor Unit 7, Berkeley House, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B76 1NR Change of use from retail shop (A1) to hot food takeaway (A5) and installation of replacement shop front window Applicant: Agent: Recommendation Approve Subject To Conditions Mrs Shiva Danialy Berkeley House, Walmley Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B76 1NR Williams Architectural The Old Registry, 80 Riland Road, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, B75 7AU 1. Proposal 1.1. This application seeks to change the use of a vacant Class A1 retail shop to a Class A5 hot food takeaway and installation of replacement shop front window. 1.2. The kitchen area and staff toilets would be at the rear of the unit with a servery/counter in the middle that would contain a pizza oven. A customer waiting area and seating area with 11 covers would be provided in the front of the unit. The existing timber window to the shopfront would be replaced with an aluminium window. 1.3. The proposed opening hours would be between 8am and 11pm daily. 1.4. The proposed hot food takeaway would employ 2 full-time and 2 part-time. 1.5. No off-street car parking spaces or a delivery service is proposed. 1.6. The applicant has advised in their Design and Access Statement that they intend to sell fresh oven cooked pizzas. Following my Officers request the applicant has provided manufacturing details of the proposed cooking equipment including the pizza oven. 1.7. Existing and Proposed Elevations and Floor Layout Plans 2. Site & Surroundings 2.1. The application relates to a vacant ground floor retail unit (Use Class A1), located within Berkeley House at the junction of Walmley Road with Wylde Green Road and Page 1 of 10

Fox Hollies Road. Berkeley House is a three storey building containing 8 ground floor units (4 in retail use, 3 being used as one betting office and a restaurant). At first and second floor there are 8 flats. The site previously operated as a sandwich bar known as The Village Pantry. 2.2. The site falls within the Primary Shopping Area of Walmley Neighbourhood Centre, and fronts a service road that provides unrestricted car parking. There is also a private car parking area to the rear of Berkely House, which provides car parking for the residents of Berkeley House and is shared with Walmley Park Court flats, to the rear of the site. To the south of Berkeley House is Walmley Ash Court, a two and three storey block comprising commercial uses on the ground floor with residential accommodation above and beyond is a public house, library and shops. There are also shops on the other side of Walmley Road. To the west of Berkely House is Bentley Court, a block of flats. 2.3. The application site lies in a sustainable location with very good accessibility to public transport services. 2.4. Location Plan 2.5. Street View 3. Planning History 3.1. No planning history. 4. Consultation/PP Responses 4.1. Ward Councillors, residents associations and adjoining occupiers were notified. Site Notice displayed outside site. 4.2. Councillor Barrie Objects to the application as the site is located on a corner with one way service road close to a traffic controlled junction, and the extra parking generated would be a potential hazard. It is also expressed that the proposed hot food takeaway would cause noise at anti-sociable hours together with smells generated, which would be a significant problem for local residents. There is already one A5 occupation within this particular block. 4.3. 13 letters of objection have been received from adjoining occupiers stating the following: - Increased traffic and parking. - Noise from customers in the late evenings and out of 6 businesses below Berkeley House 50% would be open late as a result of the proposals. - Odour and an increase in litter. - Attract anti-social behaviour in the area. - Indian Chief at 2 Berkeley House causes noise, smell, public gatherings underneath windows of residential flats above and this proposal would only increase what already is a great inconvenience and disruption to local residents. - No provision of ventilation has been given to deal with smell or heat production. The existing extractor fan located on the rear elevation of the unit would be incapable of dealing with this problem as it would be too small and the airflow would be blocked by the intervening kitchen door. - Walmley is only a small village and there are already hot food takeaways. Page 2 of 10

- Other businesses would struggle even more if another hot food takeaway opens within this small village. - Residents deserve a bit of quality of life and do not want or need a pizza takeaway. - Property values would be lowered. - The proposed kitchen is adjacent to the toilet, which is contrary to Hygiene Regulations where it is required that the kitchen must be separated from the toilet by an intervening room. - The application is inadequate and incomplete as the supporting Design and Access Statement does not give any substantiation of the proposed method of business and no traffic impact study has been completed to assess the impact on the demand for parking (for customers and staff). - The existing hot food takeaways already offer a wide range of products. - There are already 13 pizza takeaways locally of whom 8 will supply free delivery. 4.4. Public Health Advise that if the application falls within 400 metres of a school within Birmingham and the school has expressed concern about the impact upon the school healthy eating programme, they would recommend refusal. It is also advised that if the application falls within the boundaries of a Local Centre within Birmingham and would result in more than 10% of retail units occupied by A5 s, they would also recommend refusal. 4.5. West Midlands Police No objection subject to CCTV provision. 4.6. Transportation Development No objection. 4.7. Regulatory Services No objection in principle provided conditions are attached to either secure the type of cooking equipment or restrict the type of products that can be cooked on the premises. It is also recommended that conditions should be attached to restrict opening hours and require appropriate noise insulation between the ground floor A5 premises and the residential accommodation above. 5. Policy Context 5.1. Birmingham Unitary Development Plan (UDP) 2005, Draft Birmingham Development Plan (BDP), Shopping and Local Centres SPD, Car Parking Guidelines SPD and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2012. 6. Planning Considerations 6.1. Policy/ Principle of Use 6.2. The NPPF contains a presumption in favour of sustainable development. It seeks to promote competitive town centre environments that provide customer choice and a diverse retail offer which reflects the individuality of town centres. It advises that Local Planning Authorities should pursue policies to support the viability and vitality of town centres. 6.3. The adopted UDP sets out policies to protect and enhance centres, and to promote a diverse range of uses in Centres. Policy 7.23A advises that centres are important, not only just as places to shop, but also because they provide the opportunity for a wide range of services to be delivered locally, in locations accessible by a choice of means of transport. Policies 8.6 and 8.7 provide a general guidance as to where new hot foods shops can acceptably be located and state that due to the amenity Page 3 of 10

issues usually associated with such developments and their impact on traffic generation, hot food takeaway shops should generally be confined to shopping areas or areas of mixed commercial development. It also advises that when considering a proposal for a change of use from an existing shop, account will be taken of the impact that it would have on the vitality and viability of the frontage and centre of which it forms part. 6.4. The Shopping and Local Centres SPD seeks to support the primary retail function in centres whilst ensuring an appropriate balance of retail and non retail uses. It advises that hot food takeaways are appropriate in Neighbourhood Centres because they offer a popular service to local communities, support the local economy and provide employment opportunities. 6.5. The application site is located within the Primary Shopping Area (PSA) of Walmley Neighbourhood Centre and is considered to be an appropriate location for a hot food takeaway subject to specific site issues. The key issues are whether the proposed use would be acceptable in terms of the impact on the vitality and viability of the centre, on community health, the amenities of adjoining residents and upon highway safety. 6.6. Impact on Vitality and Viability 6.7. Wamley Neighbourhood Centre is a relatively small centre, comprising 30 units located on both sides of Walmley Road and includes a good mix of community, retail, food and drink and professional services. There are currently 2 hot food takeaways operating within the centre out of 30 units (a ratio of 6.66%). These are Sutton s Fish Bar at 42 Walmley Road and Josie s Take Away at 11 Walmley Close. There is a restaurant known as Indian Chief at 2 Berkeley House which provides an ancillary hot food takeaway and a public house, The Fox, which serves hot food. 6.8. The current application to change the unit from Class A1 sandwich bar to a Class A5 hot food takeaway is only required due to the increase in the level of cooking required to serve pizzas. 6.9. The objective of Policy 1 and 2 of the Shopping and Local Centres SPD is to maintain the primary retail function of centres in order to ensure the continuance of a compact attractive and lively shopping environment. The proposed hot food takeaway would reduce the total number of A1 retail units in the PSA of Walmley Neighbourhood Centre to 73.33%, which complies with the minimum threshold of 50% set by Policy 1. 6.10. The objective of Policy 4 of the Shopping and Local Centres SPD is to avoid an over concentration of hot food takeaways within Neighbourhood Centres and advises that there should be no more than 10% of units within the centre or frontage operating as hot food takeaways. It goes onto to advise that when considering applications for A5 uses account would also be taken of other factors including the type and characteristics of other uses in proximity to the application site, the size and type of unit, and the proximity of the site to dwelling houses. 6.11. The proposed use would bring the proportion of units in A5 use to 10% (3 out of 30 units), which is the maximum allowed under the current adopted policy. The frontage to Berkeley House comprises 8 units with 4 operating in A1 use (including the application site), 3 operating as one A2 use (William Hill betting office) and 1 operating as a restaurant (Indian Chief). The proposed hot food takeaway would be open during the daytime and the existing betting office also provides an active Page 4 of 10

daytime frontage. I do not consider that the proposed scheme would result in an unacceptable clustering of non retail uses such as to cause a dead frontage and a detrimental impact on the character and retail function of the centre. 6.12. I am also of the view that the proposed scheme would provide an additional hot food to that already provided within the centre and as such would extend the level of service provided within the centre. It would also help to generate footfall to this part of the centre and would bring a vacant unit back into use. I therefore consider that the proposed hot food takeaway would maintain the main shopping function of the centre and would help to support the vitality and viability of the centre as a whole. As such, the proposed scheme would comply with the Shopping and Local Centres SPD, the adopted UDP and the NPPF. Impact on Community Health 6.13. The proposed scheme would only increase the number of hot food takeaways within Walmley Neighbourhood Centre to 3 units out of 30 units, and would not result in an over concentration of hot food takeaways. The Deanery Church of England First and Middle School is located to the northeast of the site, approximately 245 metres away on Fox Hollies Road. The school have not made any comments on this application. I don t therefore consider that the proposed use would have a material impact on community health. Impact on Residential Amenity 6.14. The proposed opening times are between 8am and 11pm. Walmley Neighbourhood Centre already provides evening activity in the form of the Indian Chief open until 11.30pm daily, the betting office open until 9.30pm Monday to Saturday and 6.30pm on Sundays, Sutton s Fish Bar open until 10.30pm Monday to Saturday, Josie s Take Away open until 9.30pm Monday to Saturdays and The Fox public house open until 11pm daily, and as such the centre already generates a certain amount of evening noise compared to a predominantly residential area. The main function of a centre is to provide a variety of services for use by the public within the surrounding area, including those required during the evening time, such as hot food takeaways. I acknowledge that there are residential properties above and adjoining the site, however the site is located within a Neighbourhood Centre environment where there is already a certain degree of ambient noise. The proposed opening times are in line with policy 8.7 of the adopted UDP which recommends a closing time of 11.30pm to protect the amenities of adjoining residents. I have recommended a condition to secure the opening hours to between 8am and 11pm daily to reduce the impact of the activity upon the nearby residential properties. I also consider it necessary to recommend a condition to request noise insulation between the proposed hot food takeaway and the first floor residential accommodation to safeguard the residents from potential noise disturbance associated with the proposed use. 6.15. With regards to an increase in odour, the proposed level of cooking is anticipated to be low as it is intended to sell freshly cooked oven Pizzas. The application unit previously operated as a sandwich bar where food was preheated and required a small kitchen and associated extraction system. The proposed internal layout would reuse the kitchen and a pizza oven would be installed within the new severy/counter area. The applicant has provided manufacturing details of the Pizza oven to confirm what is going to be installed and to demonstrate that a conventional kitchen extract system with a flue that exits above the building eaves would not be required. Page 5 of 10

6.16. Regulatory Services raise no objection and considers that the cooking of pizza odour is unlikely to be an issue, providing a suitable condition can be attached to control the type of cooking equipment. I concur with this view and consider that it is reasonable and necessary to attach conditions to secure the cooking equipment as proposed by the applicant and to prevent any additional extraction system to be installed to the premises without the prior approval from the local planning authority in order to prevent significant odour problems for adjoining residents and to safeguard the visual amenities of the area. 6.17. I also note the concerns expressed by adjoining residents about an increase in litter and anti-sociable behaviour. I have recommended a condition to secure a suitable receptacle for the disposal of litter at the site. Whilst a condition has been recommended by West Midlands Police to secure CCTV at the site, I do not consider it necessary or reasonable given that the site is located within a centre and the proposals only relates to a relatively small unit. 6.18. Impact on Highway Safety 6.19. The application site does not have any on-site parking spaces, although there are unrestricted parking spaces within the service road that fronts the application site. I acknowledge that the parking demand within these parking spaces is generally high. However, there are other on-street parking spaces located within the centre and the site has good accessibility by public transport services. The proposed hot food takeaway is likely to be busy during the late afternoon/ evenings when most of the other commercial uses are likely to be closed and as such the level of parking demand for the parking spaces within the service road is likely to be reduced. I therefore do not consider that the proposed use would generate a high level of parking demand or have a detrimental impact upon highway safety, given the nature of use, the opening times and the sustainable location. I note Transportation Development raises no objection. Other matters 6.20. The removal of the derelict shopfront timber window and its replacement with an aluminium window of the same style and size would improve the appearance of the unit and the visual amenity of the area. 7. Conclusion 7.1. The proposed takeaway would provide an additional form of hot food to that already provided within Walmley Neighbourhood Centre and would support the vitality and viability of the centre. Given the low level of cooking and the type of food to be sold it is considered that there would be no detrimental impact on the amenities of adjoining occupiers. I have attached conditions to safeguard adjoining occupiers from undue noise, odour, litter, anti-sociable behaviour and general disturbance. I also consider that the proposed scheme is unlikely to have a detrimental impact on parking demand or upon highway safety. I therefore consider that the proposed use would comply with policies contained within the Shopping and Local Centres SPD, the adopted UDP and the NPPF. 8. Recommendation 8.1. That planning permission be granted subject to the following conditions: Page 6 of 10

1 Requires the prior submission of noise insulation (variable) 2 Requires the prior submission of a litter bin 3 Requires that the aluminium window to be powder coated prior to the use commencing 4 Limits the hours of operation to between the hours of 0800 to 2300. 5 Restricts the type of cooking equipment to be used. 6 Requires the scheme to be in accordance with the listed approved plans 7 Limits the approval to 3 years (Full) Case Officer: Helen Hawkes Page 7 of 10

Photo(s) Application site Page 8 of 10

Berkeley House Page 9 of 10

57 2 Location Plan Pakenham 1 to 12 Almshouses 56 5 6 L 2 1 Surgery Community 321 Centre 59 48 364 113.5m WYLDE GREEN ROAD 5 7 Almshouses 333 Shelter El Sub S 1 372 War Meml 10 8 12 Bentley Court 9 7 11 4 2 6 3 1 5 112.7m Club 8 Telephone Exchange 4 1 to 10 Walmley Park Court WALMLEY Berkeley House Walmley Ash Court 1 to 9 (above) 1 39 49 WALMLEY ROAD Shelter 28 42 30 16 17 15 The Fox 26 (PH) 4 8 Library 113.3m El Sub Sta CHE 2 4 12 1 12 10 This map is reproduced from the Ordnance Survey Material with the permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown Copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Birmingham City Council. Licence No.100021326, 2010 Page 10 of 10