A decision to reject plans to turn a Barrhead cafe into a Chinese takeaway has been upheld, after the developer urged the council to reconsider.
Council planners rejected applicant Amy Li’s bid to convert the empty shop at 196 Cross Arthurlie Street as they said too many takeaways in the area would create “odour nuisance, noise and disturbance”.
But the appeal asked councillors to review the decision and suggested a one-year monitoring period for “odour discharge” could be included.
READ MORE: Appeal after Barrhead Chinese takeaway plan rejected over 'odour' concerns
It claimed the takeaway would create seven jobs, with the applicants, who have run a similar business in Baillieston, now “seeking to run a business nearer to their home address”.
The council’s local review body voted three to two in favour of upholding the planners’ ruling, after visiting the site. The applicants had requested a hearing, to give their view on the case, but councillors decided they had enough information to deal with the appeal.
It was the second application to open a takeaway on the site, part of a group of four shops at the junction of Cross Arthurlie Street with Carlibar Road, after a plan was previously rejected in June last year.
Environmental health officers reported they had “reservations regarding the proposal for a ventilation system with a low level discharge compared to the height of the adjacent three-storey tenement building”.
They said the cooking odour from the proposed takeaway “is likely to cause odour nuisance to the residents of the three-storey flats”.
Planners also said three hot food takeaways “from 168 Cross Arthurlie Street to 6 Carlibar Road” would be too many and would have a “significant impact on residential amenity”. They believed the extract flue would be too close to nearby flats.
However, the appeal argued there aren’t an “excessive” number of takeaways and the cooking style is “not regarded as high odour”. A “high odour control system” would be installed, it added.
The applicants said there had been no objections from neighbouring residents, but they would be “happy to change the position of the flue discharge to eight metres from the nearest building instead of the existing four and a half metres”.
Cllr Paul Edlin and Cllr Andrew Morrison, both Conservative, suggested approving the application. “My view is that the overprovision is a rather unacceptable argument to make in this case as it was a cafe before, albeit slightly different,” Cllr Edlin said.
Cllr Morrison said he was “more comfortable” after an official confirmed environmental health would take action if noise or odour exceeded “the maximum allowed”.
However, Cllr Chris Lunday and Cllr Annette Ireland, both SNP, and committee chairwoman Betty Cunningham, Labour, voted to uphold the initial decision.
Cllr Lunday said: “I think even if they sorted the issues regarding the extraction, one of the major concerns is the overprovision of hot food takeaways in the area.
“Anything that was said in the hearing couldn’t actually change that because the locale has already got an overprovision in my opinion.”
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