Pub terrace rejected over parking concerns

The Cutler in North Anston shares a 'chaotic' car park with a Tesco

An application for a summer terrace at a pub in South Yorkshire has been rejected because it could cause parking chaos, a council said.

The Cutler pub in North Anston applied to have an outdoor area with five tables and chairs, open from April to September, but critics said it would be unsafe for pedestrians.

Anston Parish Council objected at a Rotherham Council meeting earlier claiming the terrace would results in a loss of parking spaces resulting in "mayhem" in a car park that was already badly managed.

Councillors voted to refuse permission for the terrace, on the grounds that there was potential for pedestrian and car conflict to the detriment of the safety of users.

The pub shares its car park with a neighbouring Tesco, with 27 spaces in total.

Andrew Woodhead, clerk to Anston Parish Council, said taking any of the spaces away would be "detrimental".

He also said the parish council was very concerned from a "public safety point of view” because the car park was “very chaotic indeed...at the best of times".

However, a traffic survey indicated the car park rarely exceeds its capacity, so losing some spaces would not "severely impact parking availability or highway safety", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

But councillor Drew Tarmey said: “We get a lot of vehicles stopping and queuing.

"The real problem that we’ve got here is that the infrastructure around there is not designed for a large number of cars crossing that footway.

“The car park’s not being operated efficiently."

He added: "Officers and the developers need to go back and address some of these issues before it comes back.”

Lisa Brooks, the council's planning officer, said that the existing outdoor seating area on the site does not require planning permission, but the proposal for a summer terrace does, as the planning inspectorate imposed a condition that all 27 car parking spaces were to be retained when the Tesco store was approved.

Councillors had hoped to defer the application until safety issues could be addressed, but Ms Brooks said there would be no benefit in going back to the applicant.

“This is the only location, and the reasons they’ve given..is prominence for the pub..so people can see how busy it is.”

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