Inspector makes decision in dispute over restaurant design

Plans to build a restaurant and four shops on the former site of The Gallopers pub on Wakefield Road were approved over four years ago – in May 2023.

But the site currently remains empty and overgrown – with no significant work having ever begun on the development.

Previous applications have hinted that the restaurant would be the first Bradford Branch of the Yoh Burger restaurant chain.

Earlier this year, the Redbeck Group applied to Bradford Council for permission to amend the design of the restaurant. The planned building already gone through numerous redesigns, including a quirky shipping container construction that divided opinion.

The application claimed the redesign was needed due to the rising cost of building materials, and said the applicants were eager to begin work once the amended plans were approved.

The original restaurant design (Image: Redbeck Group)

But planning officers at Bradford Council refused the application, which would see the restaurant clad in aluminium knotwood rather than the approved timber cladding.

Officers argued the redesign was much more “blocky” and would “result in much-reduced visibility throughout the form of the approved restaurant building.

The new design for the restaurant (Image: Redbeck Group)

“The resulting form would appear overly large, visible, and overbearing when viewed from surrounding highways.”

Redbeck Group appealed the decision, and the appeal, drawn up by their agents Urban Future Planning Consultancy, said: “Since the granting of consent in 2020, construction costs have increased substantially.

“The changes would constitute a minor change that would be barely noticeable when viewed from the highway.”

Now a Government appointed planning inspector has sided with the developers, dismissing Bradford Council’s reasons for refusal.

Planning inspector A Caines said: “I understand that the site has been in a vacant and disused state for some time since the former public house was demolished.

“The surroundings are strongly urban with a mixed character, including large commercial warehouses and residential buildings of varying ages, style, and materials.

“Although the proposal would result in the upper sections of the building having less ‘through visibility’ compared to the use of timber slats, I do not consider that this would make the building noticeably more bulky or overbearing.

“Its size and form would not change. Moreover, the woodgrain effect would provide a very similar finish. Overall, I consider that the proposal would be entirely compatible with the contemporary design of the building and the mixed context of the area.

“I therefore conclude that the proposal would not harm the character and appearance of the surrounding area.”