A businessman has won an appeal to convert a hair salon into a takeaway in Ascot.
The Generations Hair Salon has been situated in the Warren Row shopping precinct in North Ascot for over a decade.
But now the closed hair salon is set to be converted into a restaurant despite concerns over increased illegal parking in the neighbourhood.
The precinct is made up of six shopping units and has 15 car parking spaces.
The plan for converting Generations into a restaurant dates back two years.
During consideration of the project, Bracknell Forest Council planning officer Will Rendall recommended that it be refused due to increased poor and illegal parking in the neighbourhood, which is largely residential.
In a site visit undertaken last year, Mr Rendall took photos of five vehicles that were parked in an obstructive way in Warren Row and Bracken Bank.
Passing judgment on the project, he wrote: "The proposed development will exacerbate the existing parking problems in the area due to a shortfall in
parking provided, resulting in an increased risk of illegal, inconsiderate and obstructive parking, which would in turn have an adverse effect on the free flow of traffic and an unacceptable impact on highway safety."
The plan was therefore refused in December last year.
However, the applicant submitted an appeal to the government's planning inspectorate launched this year.
The businessman's planning agent argued that the eatery will primarily serve as a takeaway, with customers typically parking for 5-10 minutes to pick up orders.
While planning inspector Simon Rawle agreed that the opening of the takeaway would lead to increased parking pressure in the area, he was not persuaded by the argument that it would lead to an unacceptable impact on highway safety and the residential road network.
A site visit was undertaken on Tuesday, September 3, with Mr Rawle discovering that Generations has closed.
The appeal was allowed on the condition that the business owner submits a parking, delivery and servicing management plan to Bracknell Forest Council for approval.
The decision means work can begin on the conversion of the hair salon into a takeaway.
Approved floorplans show that a dining area in the takeaway will have 12 seats and four bar stool-style chairs on a counter.
It will have consent to open from 11am to 10.30pm from Monday to Saturday, and 11am to 9pm on Sundays and public holidays.
You can view the conversion allowed on appeal by typing reference 22/00857/FUL into the council's planning portal.
The decision was made on Tuesday, September 17.
The business owner has since submitted the parking, delivery and servicing management plan requested by Mr Rawle, which can be viewed by typing reference 24/00161/COND into the planning portal.
A further application is expected for new signage that will show the name of the business.
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