Restaurant must remove unauthorised marquee

The shop opened on Dudley Road in 2020

An appeal by a Wolverhampton restaurant to keep an unauthorised marquee has been rejected by a government inspector.

Amritsar Sweets and Catering on Dudley Road installed the marque behind its Blakenhall shop without permission in early 2022 saying it could accommodate about 70 people and host up to two private functions a week.

A retrospective planning application was rejected by the city council in January before the owners appealed to the government's planning inspectors.

Further congestion on the busy Dudley Road was cited by the council and planning inspectors as one reason to reject the bid.

Although the marquee could accommodate about 70 people, the number of guests would be limited to 30 and no alcohol would be served or music played, the restaurant, which opened in 2020, said.

But the planning inspector said: "The surrounding road network has a relatively high volume of on-street parking and likely would remain at a high level for the duration of the proposed opening hours.

"Therefore, further stress upon parking provision in the surrounding area because of the appeal scheme, is in my judgement, likely to result in unsafe parking."

The design and lightweight materials used were not "sufficient to adequately contain noise from the use of the appeal scheme" they added.

Rejecting the original application, the council said the increased arrivals and departures would affect neighbours "in terms of noise and general disturbance emanating from the marquee".

The marquee was "out of scale" and made from "poor-quality materials" that "detracted from the appearance and character of the street", it added.