Mill site function room opposed

The operators of Unit 46 at Albion Mills in Idle, Bradford, have asked for permission to add at function suite.

A council report says the suite is already operating and so the application is made in retrospect.

A planning report for councillors says the application should be granted permission.

But local Lib Dem councillor Jeanette Sunderland is objecting.

She said: “The function room is already operating without planning permission which has demonstrated that the site is completely unsuited to this use.

“The parking is totally inadequate and relies on the other users of the building not needing to park when a function is in progress.

“There is no provision for coach parking either and there is a long history of parking problems here.

“Residents have complained about late night noise and the police were called on more than one occasion.”

She said a function room which is used for weddings and other celebrations should be located in a hotel or similar building which is suitable for social use.

“Albion Mills is a business park and the conversion was intended to help generate small businesses and revitalise the local economy in a way compatible with being in a residential area.

“I will be asking the planning panel to reject this application and to make sure that the use as a function room is stopped.”

A report to members of the planning panel, which meets on Wednesday, says the function room use is acceptable.

It says the highways officer has suggested a traffic regulation order on Albion Road to provide a residents’ only parking scheme. A condition of approval of the function room could be the provision of off-street parking for Unit 46 users.