Shop and cafe schemes greeted with objections in posh suburbs

Fifteen people living in Nether Edge have written to Sheffield Council opposing a planning application which seeks to turn 8 Stretton Road – which was previously used as an office – into a shop with an art gallery above.

The shop, on a quiet residential street off Psalter Lane, would be open from 8am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday.

One neighbour who is objecting to the application said: "A retail outlet operating for 12 hours a day and for six days each week will result in increased levels of noise, light pollution, smells, increased litter and the possibility of vermin.

"Access in and out of the rear door will be intrusive and impact on our privacy. Stretton Road is already a congested rat run linking Psalter Lane to Hunters Bar.

"Deliveries and increased parking problems resulting from this proposal will undoubtedly add to noise levels and the potential for further road accidents."

They added that they would "challenge the need for such an outlet, given the availability of shopping at Banner Cross, Hunters Bar and Nether Edge."

Another opponent to the plans said: "Parking in this neighbourhood is difficult owing to large numbers of multiple occupancy houses, and proximity to shops at Hunters Bar.

"This area is about to be included in the Sharrow parking restriction zone and adding a local business with increased parking will only worsen the situation."

Other neighbours say they would object to alcohol being sold in the shop, and it would be unsuitable within the Nether Edge Conservation Area.

City planners have agreed with the objectors and recommend that councillors refuse planning consent when they consider the application at a meeting this afternoon.

In their report, the planners say: "The application would be considered to result in an unacceptable level of noise and disturbance and an imposition of commercial activity upon adjoining residents that would be contrary to planning policy."

At the same planning meeting at the town hall today, councillors will also consider proposals to use a mid-terrace property in Causeway Head Road, Dore, as a cafe with a seating area outside.

The Dore Village Society has objected to the plans, saying that the proposed canopies on the cafe frontage would be "out of character with the existing shop fronts in the parade on Causeway Head Road, and out of character with the traditional buildings in this part of the Dore Conservation Area."

Seven letters of objection have been submitted by concerned neighbours who say they have worried about parking, noise, cooking smells and the impact on the appearance of the shopping street.

Around 30 people have also signed a petition opposing the cafe plans, claiming that there is no need for an additional eatery in the area.

The petition says: "There is considerable pressure on parking facilities in Dore and it is often impossible to park within a reasonable distance of the existing shops.

"The addition of a cafe catering for up to 20 people simultaneously will attract car-travelling clientele, which will add to

this already significant problem and make it even more difficult for local residents to park in reasonable proximity to shops."

City planners, however, have recommended that councillors approve the plans and say that the scheme will "not impact on the balance" of the existing shopping centre.

The report says: "It is also considered that the alterations to the shop front, and creation of external seating, will not impact negatively on the character of the street scene or impact negatively on the occupiers of nearby residential properties."