A planning application has been submitted to Bradford Council seeking permission to convert the former Kashmiri Aroma restaurant on Coutances Way near Ilkley into a McDonalds restaurant and takeaway.
Plans were lodged with the council this week, and residents have until 6th July to submit their comments of support or objection.
The site at Manor Park Bends on the A65 between Ilkley and Burley was most recently used by Kashmiri Aroma, which closed its branch there on 1st May this year after 15 years. The building was most notably home to a Little Chef which opened in 1981 and operated until 2004.
Its history dates back more than a hundred years as a 'Refreshment House', subequently 'Little Esscroft Cafe' and 'Riversdale Cafe and Filling Station'. In the 1970s it was a nightclub called 'Jeeves' before returning to use as a restaurant prior to the conversation to Little Chef.
In 2007 before Kashmiri Aroma moved in, a change of use was granted to allow the premises to be used as a takeaway as well as a restaurant, on condition that takeaway sales do not take place between midnight and 8am.
Lichfields, who have submitted a planning statement on behalf of McDonalds Restaurants Ltd, say the proposed fast-food outlet would be content to trade under those rules and be open from 8am until midnight each day but wants to make some minor alterations to the building and car park.
The application says that the proposals would bring a "prominent and recently vacated building back into active use, providing a new restaurant in a highly accessible location and fulfilling a demand for McDonald’s services in this area".
There would not be a drive-thru facility, but the new restaurant and takeaway would create 42 full-time and 18 part-time jobs.
The next nearest McDonalds branches are currently at Skipton, Keighley, Guiseley and Shipley.
The plans submitted to the council are for
- a double-storey extension to the rear of the property to enclose an existing external staircase
- demolition and replacement of the existing cold room to the rear
- a small hot water plant room to the rear
- a new plant and equipment on the roof and at ground level to the rear
- a new sub-surface waste water treatment unit / underground attenuation tank
- replacement roof covering
- new entrance doors
- alterations to car parking, landscaping and fencing to the rear.
The applicant highlights that while the site is in the green belt and open countryside, the extensions proposed are of a 'minor nature' and are mainly to the back of the building. It says the plans would result in an overall increase in gross external area of around 21 metres squared - around 7% more than the existing area - so would "not be disproportionate additions over and above the size of the original building, detract from the character of the original building, have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt than the existing development, or harm the character of the surrounding countryside."
Bradford Council has set a target date of 9th August to make a decision on the application, which you can see in full and comment on at https://planning.bradford.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=RUV1SUDHMJ500
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