Scaled-back plans to change a house garage into a facility to prepare children for school have been refused for a second time by council planners.
Applicant Rebecca Shorthouse wanted to change the use of a detached residential annexe at her home in Carr Road, Calverley, into a facility that prepared pre-school age children for the transition into education.
She wanted to run two, one-hour classes each weekday – a reduction of one session on the previous application, which was refused by planners in July on highways safety grounds.
Mrs Shorthouse said there would be a maximum of six families attending at once. Vehicles would access the property from Fraser Road, although she anticipated that most attendees will arrive on foot.
18 letters of objection were received from local residents, raising concerns including highways safety and on-street parking. A further ten letters offered a variety of reasons for supporting the plans, including that the proposal would be a community asset.
But Leeds City Council planners again raised concerns about highways safety. A council planning officer’s report said:
“…On-street parking is likely to occur on Fraser Road rather than using the dedicated parking area to the rear, which could result in the proposals overly intensifying the use of Fraser Road, which is not suitable for additional traffic due to on-street parking issues and the narrow carriageway.
“It is also likely that the proposal will increase levels of on-pavement parking that would create conflict with the free and safe use of the footway by pedestrians.”
The full plans and planners’ report can be read in full here.