The CVNF held a meeting with Simon Jones recently to discuss the application to convert Carlton Hall into a restaurant and a 4 bedroom bed and breakfast. Prior to the meeting the CVNF and CVRA members were contacted and asked for any questions they may have so that Simon could have an opportunity to comment upon them.
Simon Jones stated that as somebody who was brought up in Carlton he has seen some local businesses close and wanted to try and add something to the village. Simon has been running Passion supper club from his home for the several months and believes that there is a market for a high quality dining experience in the local area.
Carlton Hall has been identified as a property that could provide a suitable venue for this. Simon would also like to make people more aware of the history of the hall (which is an English heritage property) and make it more accessible to the public.
The full planning application can be found here.
The questions received from the community were:
Why does the application appear to have 2 application numbers on the Leeds City Council (LCC) website?
The reason is that the building is listed and LCC state that you must also submit a listed building consent application alongside your full planning permission.
There are concerns that the car parking allocated is not going to be sufficient?
The parking allocated 20 spaces is as advised by LCC would be required in pre-planning advice.
It is not possible to make the car park any larger due to Tree Preservation Orders (TPO’s) which require trees to be preserved or, in the case where they are found to be dangerous, replaced.
Although the restaurant will seat 56 people, the limiting factor is the size of the kitchen, it is impossible for the restaurant to cater for 56 people at the same time as such it is thought that the turnover of customers will be such that the car park will be adequate.
It is hoped that any staff hired can be found locally and this will negate the need for staff parking.
There is the possibility of overspill parking on Queen Street but it is hoped that by managing the bookings this will be kept to a minimum.
There is no intention of doing mass catering (such as wedding receptions) so there will not be any events which require mass parking.
The intention of opening the business as a cafe Monday – Friday could help with parking for the school as Simon is hoping that some parents will use the cafe and therefore take some parking off the streets.
What are the extended opening hours referenced within the design and access statement point 2.16?
The current intention is to open the Coffee shop only Monday to Thursday closing at 4.30pm. The cafe would then be open Friday AM and the premises would then become the restaurant from Friday evening until Sunday evening. The extended opening has been applied for to allow for the possibility of the restaurant opening for additional evenings through the week. There is no intention of extending the hours beyond 11pm.
What assurance can be given that the PRS & PPL licences will be for background music only?
The application states that if required a sound limiter can be installed.
There is no intention of holding any form of event which requires the music to be above background level.
Point 2.15 on the design and access statement has a licence to serve alcohol until 11pm, there is a concern over the noise and possible disruption this may cause?
The intention is to serve alcohol to restaurant and B & B customers only. There is no intention to open the bar to passer-by’s. It is unlikely that all the customers will leave at the same time and as such the noise should be minimal.
Point 2.18 on the design and access statements mentions deliveries at 7am, 10am and 2pm 2-3 times per week?
This is a poorly worded statement and I appreciate how it can be misconstrued. I anticipate 1 commercial bin collection and 1 or 2 deliveries per week totalling 2-3 commercial vehicles arriving each week. Not 2-3 bin collections as this has been previously interpreted. The times are stated to avoid conflicts with school traffic and as 7am is the normal time for LCC bin collections deemed not too early for commercial collections.
Point 3.8 on the design and access statement indicates that there will be no disabled WC with access for a wheelchair, is it possible to incorporate this within the design?
The disability discrimination act states that considerations must be made and that changes should be deemed reasonable. Widening doorways in a listed building will cause conflict with conservation, and so hand rails and ramps will be installed to reasonably assist the less able but will not fit a full width wheelchair through internal doors.
Point 4.2 on the design and access statement states there are three neighbouring properties on the boundary of Carlton Hall Farm and each house only has their side facing over the site and there are no direct views into the site from these properties, what about the properties which are on Queen Street and look directly onto Carlton Hall Farm?
This is intended to describe the location of the boundaries. When I state throughout the application that I will consider neighbours this incorporates all our neighbours around Carlton. Please contact me if you have any concerns I can address or help with.
There are concerns raised over the possibility of cooking smells coming from the restaurant/café what is being done to prevent this?
British standards and planning guidance will dictate noise and filtration requirements.
Is there anything that can be done to eliminate disruption caused by customers departing the property, such as lights from cars and noise?
It is not anticipated that all customers will leave together.
There will be signs erected asking that customers leave with regard for the neighbours.
Is there any possibility of the restaurant offering take-away?
There is no intention of offering takeaway. The application for the restaurant has no reference to a take-away option and would need to submit another application if it wished to do so in the future.
Do you see any conflict with other businesses in the area?
It is thought that there is no conflict, the food offered will be totally different to that offered by the Unicorn or Rosebud. There is no bar facility for non-diners, the café will not be open on the weekend, it is hoped that the local business will benefit from the restaurant bringing new people to the village.
Any other points?
As a paramedic I would like to state that we intend to hold a community defibrillator on the premises.
I hope that the above has provided you with some useful information. The CVNF will be making a neutral comment on the development on the LCC website listing what they see as the potential positives and negatives. It is up to individuals themselves to make their own comments on this. The relevant forms can be accessed by the link above.
cvnf.org.uk 