PLANS to turn an empty car showroom building in Shipley into a dessert parlour have been approved after a planning wrangle over highway safety was resolved.

Sajid Sadiq said he was “delighted” that his application had been given the green light by Bradford Council, and hoped work on transforming the site would begin soon.

The business will open in one of the buildings on Otley Road left vacant following the relocation of Colin Appleyard car dealership to Canal Road in Bradford in Summer 2018.

Mr Sadiq had submitted the application to change the unit, next to the Old House At Home pub, into a restaurant and cafe selling desserts earlier this year.

But when reviewing the scheme, Council highways officers had asked the applicant to re-instate a kerb in front of the site.

Filling station plan for Shipley car showroom site approved

Currently the kerb is dropped, and highways officers felt this would encourage customers to park on the public highway while visiting the business. They wanted to discourage motorists from parking in front of the site, which is on a busy road.

Although Mr Sadiq had agreed to build a wall around the existing parking area in front of the building, he originally declined to re-install the kerb, saying it should be a Council matter rather than up to a private business to improve safety on a public highway.

A planning panel refused the original application in June, despite support from Shipley ward Councillors and Councillor David Green (Lab, Wibsey) whom Mr Sadiq is a constituent of.

After the refusal Mr Sadiq submitted a new application, this time including the changes to the kerb that would prevent motorists from mounting the pavement.

Those plans have now been approved by Bradford Council. Planning officers said: “The proposal does not include any significant physical alterations but will introduce a new use to the building, helping to secure its long-term future assisting with its maintenance to the benefit of the appearance of site itself and the wider street scene.”

The business will open from 10.30am to midnight on Monday to Saturday and from noon to 10.30pm on Sundays.

After the plans were approved Mr Sadiq said: “I’m delighted it’s been approved. I’m looking forward to bringing something new and exciting to Shipley.

“I’d like to thank all the Councillors who got behind me and the plans.”

He hopes work on the site would begin shortly.

Earlier this month Bradford Council also approved plans to convert the other former Colin Appleyard buildings, next to this unit, into a filling station and 24 hour a day convenience store.

That application was submitted by Valli Forecourts, who also plan to include a car was as part of the development.

The site had previously been a petrol station called the Civic Service Station until the 1990s.