Oldham Indian restaurant to be turned into apartments despite objections

An application for the site of Anise, an Indian restaurant on Huddersfield Road in Austerlands, was submitted in September.

A month earlier, an old application to turn the restaurant into 12 apartments was withdrawn after a consultation received a number of comments from residents concerned about a range of issues, from privacy to the risk of road traffic crashes.

But the new application did still not address all of these residents' concerns if the outcome of the latest consultation is to be believed.

One comment reads: "The proposed development would have a detrimental effect on the privacy of our property behind the building.

"As previously stated, privacy in our home and garden would be gone, with apartment windows overlooking or looking directly into both our home and garden.

"Everyone has the right to a certain level of privacy regardless of where they live."

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Another comment reads: "The access road is on a steep slope with blind access to Huddersfield Road. 

"Both car parks are blind to the oncoming traffic, which is more than likely to cause road traffic accidents or worse, death."

The plans include an extension to Anise, which occupies the lower ground floor and upper ground floor of the site, before the restaurant is turned into six one-bedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments.

The first floor is already an HMO run by care organisation Turning Point, and is to be retained, according to the application.

Outside, there is also to be space for two car parks, as well as bin storage and cycle storage.

The applicant expects the eight apartments to make a positive contribution to Austerlands.

In its decision issued on Monday, the council's planning team approved the application with conditions, including an obligation to start work within three years.

The materials used must also be consistent in colour, size and texture with the current site.