Find, save and share Public Notices that affect you in the area.
Search the Public Notice Portal What is the Public Notice Portal?What is the Public Notice Portal?
The Public Notice Portal carries statutory public notices published in local newspapers and is the fastest and most effective way of finding out what is happening in YOUR neighbourhood.
Search the Public Notice PortalA proposal to turn a vacant office into a town centre flat has been rejected on the grounds that the surrounding area is too busy and noisy at night and in the early hours of the morning.
Babar Gul Khan wanted to convert the first floor of the property in Railway Road, Darwen, into a one-bedroom apartment.
The empty office space is above a takeaway and barber shop.
The three-storey premises is in the Darwen Town Centre Conservation Area.
The next-door bar, which has live music and karaoke at the weekend, objected to the scheme because approval could lead to potential future noise complaints from the occupiers of the flat.
Mr Khan's planning application has been turned down by Blackburn with Darwen Council.
A report by planning officer Tom Wiggans recommending refusal said: "The proposal relates to the first floor of the building - vacant offices which sit above a ground floor takeaway and barber shop.
"It is located at the end of a terrace and the adjacent unit is a bar.
"This application seeks to change the use of a first-floor vacant office to a one-bed flat.
"The former office has been empty for a number of years and this proposal would bring the first floor back into active use,
"The second floor would remain as storage, although it is unclear exactly who this storage area would be for given the only access would be through the proposed first-floor flat.
"The applicant has stated the proposed first-floor flat would be for use by the occupier of the ground-floor takeaway.
"However, the proposed flat cannot be considered to be ancillary accommodation.
"It would clearly be a self-contained flat, with an entirely separate bespoke access from Railway Road, and no internal access to the takeaway.
"The property lies within Darwen town centre where there is a very high level of late-night noise and disturbance generated by the evening economy.
"This continues deep into the early hours and includes people congregating, shouting, vehicular traffic, music, etc.
"Existing noise sources in the immediate vicinity include: a large pub directly opposite; a bar directly adjacent which is known to operate a karaoke and live music; and a hot food takeaway, directly below.
"There are also other well-established independent nighttime venues located within a 50-metre radius that have late night opening hours.
"This is in addition to other venues in the wider area that create a lot of night-time footfall and revelry into the early hours of the morning.
"There is a genuine risk that future occupiers of the flats would be affected by the existing nighttime economy."
Share