Grassington: Former bank to be turned into bakery and cafe
Plans to turn a former bank in the Yorkshire Dales into a bakery and cafe have been approved.
The scheme will see the renovation and partial change of use of the former Barclays Bank building in Hebden Road, Grassington.
The application was to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority on behalf of Lee Teal, from Love Brownies, a business which already has outlets in Skipton and Harrogate.
Members of the authority this week voted unanimously to approve the plans.
Under the proposals, the ground floor will be brought back into commercial use as a café and bakery, while the upper floors will be converted into flats.
Planning documents say users of the cafe will be able to watch work taking place in the bakery.
Planning committee member Allen Kirkbride proposed that the application be approved.
He said: “I think the architect has really done quite a good job on the infrastructure and how it’s going to look.
“Grassington is a very, very busy village. I’m sure there will be full use of this, and in addition, there are two flats in with the scheme as well.”
The meeting heard that Grassington Parish Council had raised a number of concerns about the scheme, including the proximity of outdoor tables at the cafe to the road.
Committee member Yvonne Peacock said: “I do understand when people are concerned about being near the road, but the thing about Grassington is that every car, or everything that’s coming by, is crawling because you couldn’t do anything else but crawl up there with your vehicle.
“It is a bit different if this was on a busy road, then it probably may be a bit too close.”
The meeting also heard concerns about the lack of parking for customers and residents of the flats.
But members were told there was public parking available in the town which could be used.
The building has previously operated as the Jobber’s Inn and later the Commercial Hotel before becoming a bank, which closed in 2019.