Agenda item
17 Calvert Avenue, E2 7JP
Decision:
On a vote of 5 for and 0 against, the Committee RESOLVED
(1) That planning permission be GRANTED at17 Calvert Avenue, London, E2 7JP, for change of use from A1 retail to A3 Café, subject to the conditions and informatives as set out in the circulated report.
(2) That the Corporate Director Development & Renewal be delegated authority to impose planning conditions and informatives on the planning permission to secure the matters listed in the circulated report.
Minutes:
At the request of the Chair, Mr Pete Smith, Development Control Manager, introduced the circulated report and Tabled update concerning the application for planning permission at 17 Calvert Avenue, London, E2 7JP (Ref. No. PA/11/00206).
The Chair then invited persons who had registered for speaking rights to address the meeting.
Mr Geoff Juden, a local resident, stated that the situation regarding the café premises had divided the community. The café had been trading illegally for eight years and the Council had failed to provide answers to residents’ requests for information on the matter. The premises were trading in contravention of Environmental Health rules and café users tended to spill out on to the pavement, while no other premises in the area were allowed pavement trading. There was no extraction system to deal with cooking odours and waste from the café was put into the domestic waste system. A planning application for a café opposite the premises had been refused in 2007 on the grounds of noise and pollution. There were no public toilet facilities and concerns expressed by residents had been ignored. He felt, therefore, that the application should be refused.
Ms Sabeha Miah stated that she had been a local resident since 2003 and had been in a good position to see how the café had developed as a local facility. She and many residents supported the café as it had made a contribution to the local community, provided good nutrition and had created new life in the community. It caused no negative impact. Ms Miah added that she worked in the local community and her children used the café. Staff in the premises ran various community projects and the café enabled people, especially the young, to see the benefits of being involved in such a business, and community cohesion was encouraged. The owner (Leila) was well-known locally and was prepared to listen to people’s problems. She felt that the café helped develop neighbourliness and strengthened the local community, so the application should be granted.
At the request of the Chair, Ms Ila Robertson, Applications Manager, made a detailed presentation of the report and update including powerpoint plans relating to the application. She pointed out that the previous use for the site was retail and made reference to the Inspector’s favourable comments at a recent appeal regarding an application for a café in a conservation area. Officers were of the view that the café complemented the listed building in which it was situated and improved the street environment. The premises was modest in size and served a maximum of 28 covers. Food was mainly sandwich-based apart from breakfast items such as eggs or porridge. The limited size of the café and menu meant that the Environmental Health Service did not require the provision of a commercial ventilation/extraction system. Opening hours would be outside noise-sensitive hours. Parking in the surrounding streets was for residents only and café users had good public transport access.
The Chair then invited questions from Members.
Questions were put relating to: impact of cooking and kitchen facilities on residents; why an extraction system was not felt necessary; how could a more intensive menu be controlled if permission were granted; how would any pavement trading be controlled; the principle of regularising what had been an unauthorised trading.
In response, Ms Robertson indicated that:
- Most of the food served was in sandwich form and consumed on site and there was not intensive cooking that would require more ventilation, just being domestic in scale. Environmental Health were satisfied that there was not enough of an odour problem to justify a ventilation system, given the nature and scale of the use.
- There would be an informative to retain the same style of cooking and this could be controlled through the lease on the premises. Additional planning permission would also be required if the use intensified on site or if a ventilation system was deemed necessary. Separate controls were also available though Environmental Health powers, if odour issues arose.
- There had been no complaints regarding noise and the hours of use were outside noise-sensitive hours. Given the small size, usage tended to be around lunchtime and the footprint of the café could not be increased, nor the kitchen enlarged without planning permission and listed building consent being obtained.
- On the matter of regularisation of the situation, the applicant herself had contacted Officers to see whether change of use was needed.
The Chair commented that any change of use would have to be brought back to the Committee for consideration. He then indicated that the vote would be put and, on a vote of 5 for and 0 against, the Committee RESOLVED
(1) That planning permission be GRANTED at17 Calvert Avenue, London, E2 7JP, for change of use from A1 retail to A3 Café, subject to the conditions and informatives as set out in the circulated report.
(2) That the Corporate Director Development & Renewal be delegated authority to impose planning conditions and informatives on the planning permission to secure the matters listed in the circulated report.
Supporting documents: