PLANS to place a convenience store and coffee shop at the site of a former Denshaw hotel have been refused.
Sophia Hartwell, of Saddleworth Holdings Ltd, applied to Oldham Council to place the facilities in the existing car park of Clough Manor, more recently known as W.Apart Hotel.
But even though documents supporting the scheme described the proposal as a ‘high-quality enhancement’ Oldham Council’s planning department has turned it down.
As well as the store and coffee shop, which would have been called Coffee n Cake, it was proposed to place electronic vehicle charging bays, cycle charging points, a self-service car wash and a taxi call point at the location.
But in a report, officers state: “The proposed development would not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area and therefore does not comprise sustainable development.
“There were alternative solutions to the scheme, however, the Applicant was unwilling to amend the proposal to make the development acceptable.
“It was therefore not possible to approve the application.
“The proposal constitutes inappropriate development, which is by definition harmful to the Green Belt and should not be approved except in very special circumstances.
“The development does not meet the exception for the redevelopment of previously developed land, as the scale, massing and elevated siting of the building would result in substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt, both spatially and visually.
“The proposal also fails to meet the criteria for commercial development in the Green Belt, and no evidence has been provided to demonstrate an unmet need for the proposed Class E use or to justify the site as “grey belt”.
“In the absence of very special circumstances that clearly outweigh the harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and the additional harm to openness, the proposal conflicts with paragraphs 142, 153, 154 and 155 of the NPPF, and Local Plan Policy 22, and is therefore unacceptable in this Green Belt location.”
The former Clough Manor has been the subject of a number of planning applications, including one to turn much of it into a ‘residential institution.’
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