A scaled-down plan to build shops on the site of a former pub has been recommended for approval by planners.

The Junction Hotel once stood at the junction of Leeds Road and Gain Lane, Thornbury, but has been demolished.

Aqeel Khan had originally applied to build three single-storey shops on the site, but this plan was turned down in August by members of the Bradford Area Planning Panel.

The panel had refused it on the grounds that the buildings took up too much of the site, chairman Councillor Shabir Hussain saying: “It’s an over-development.”

Now the applicant has submitted a revised plan, with two shops instead of three.

It means the development would cover about 485 sq m, compared to the original plan which would have covered 568 sq m.

There would also be 14 off-street parking spaces, with an entrance via Gain Lane.

The shops would be made of natural stone with slate roofs and modern-looking shop fronts with grey-coloured aluminium frames.

In their report, planning officers have said the shops would “result in a positive visual impact on the street scene”.

But some residents disagree. A petition against the development, containing 57 signatures, has been sent to planners along with a separate letter from an objector. They raise concerns that there are already enough shops in the area, that the development will threaten road safety and that those visiting the shops would use a nearby back street to get there, affecting residents.

The officers have also conducted research into whether the shops, deemed to be on the edge of Thornbury, would harm the vitality of any nearby town and village centres.

Their report says there were no alternative sites nearby which were suitable, available and viable for such a retail development. It says: “In addition, the research carried out concludes that none of the surrounding centres are at this time vulnerable and are generally in good health.

“This would suggest that they are not highly vulnerable to out-of-centre retail uses.”

The Bradford Area Planning Panel will meet to discuss the revised plan on Wednesday.