Take-away turned down

PLANS to turn a retail shop into a hot food take-away in an east Cleveland village have been turned down by planners.

The take-away shop, which was planned in the High Street in Skelton, proposed to open from 4pm until 11.30pm seven days a week and would have created two new jobs in the village. The only building work which would have been needed was the installation of a flue at the back of the building.

But although the resident in the flat above the shop did not object to the plans, several residents along the High Street wrote to Redcar and Cleveland Council and submitted a petition with 75 signatures.

Their objections include that the take-away would add to congested residents parking and they feared the outlet would have created problems with noise nuisance, young people congregating and litter spreading in a conservation area. There were also concerns about increased vandalism.

In a report to Redcar and Cleveland Council's Planning Committee, which met to discuss the application at its meeting this week, Dr Joan Rees, the council's Director of Economy and Environment, recommended that councillors refuse the application and said: "Whilst the use of the premises would not harm the character and appearance of the area, it would unacceptably harm the living conditions of nearby residential occupiers by reason of late-night activity associated with the use."

Councillors agreed with Dr Rees's recommendations and turned the proposal down.