A SECOND retrospective planning application for a chai cafe at a Leeds Road car park has been refused by Bradford Council.

Work on the Chaii Walay cafe, created from a shipping container at the back of the Orange Street car park, was completed in May 2020, when the business was the latest in a wave of chai cafes to open in the city.

However, planning permission for the business was not submitted until late last year, and that retrospective application was refused by planning officers earlier this year.

A second retrospective application for the business, this time with some slight alterations, was submitted last month.

But now that application has also been refused by planning officers, leaving an appeal as the only possible way for the business to become authorised.

The first application, refused in January, had raised concerns that a public car park on one of Bradford's busiest shopping streets was being used as parking for a new, unauthorised business.

At the time planning officers said: "This public car park has been provided by the Council for local businesses and residents use and not for direct use for any trading purposes.

Inspector overturns Council's decision to refuse retrospective cafe plan

"The loss of any public car parking spaces is unacceptable."

They also criticised the appearance of the cafe.

The new application, submitted by Shahid Khan, would see the cafe clad in timber, as well as identifying alternative parking for customers - off Florence Street.

The business would open until 1am.

These changes were not enough to change planning officers' minds about the business - and the second application was refused late last week.

There had been public objections to this latest plan, with one saying the road's only public car park had been "hijacked" and that the business had lead to an increase in litter and late night noise.

Referring to the appearance of the shipping container, planning officers said: "Whilst the timber cladding is an attempt to improve the aesthetics' of the proposed container, front canopy and retaining structure, this attempt fails to address concerns regarding the poor design, form and materials used for the container, front canopy and retaining structure.

"The proposal will still results in an alien addition that poorly relates to the style and form of surrounding properties.

"As such the proposal will not maintain the character of the surrounding area and is considered to have a significant detrimental impact on the character of the surrounding area."

Highlighting the highways issues, officers claimed customers would not go through the effort of parking in the cafe's designated spaces when there was a car park right in front of it.

They said: "The resubmitted plans do identify alternative parking for the proposed tea room however, this is accessed off Florence Street and is remote from the proposed tea room location.

"Customers to the tea room are then more likely to occupy the spaces in the public car park on Orange Street rather than venturing off the main route onto the back roads where this car park access is located.

"The increased pressure on the public car parking space or the loss of any public car parking spaces resulting from the proposal is unacceptable. Furthermore, the traffic generated by this proposal would be likely to obstruct vehicular movements to and from the car park and also within the car park and could lead to conditions prejudicial to highway and pedestrian safety."