Councillors have turned down a planning application for a major restaurant extension after complaints from residents.

Kez's Restaurant would have taken over an entire block of properties from 582 to 586 Great Horton Road.

Its owner Shakw Ahmed said he would appeal to the Department of Environment against the decision.

He said the multi-thousand pound development would have increased the existing 50- table restaurant to 200 and created new jobs.

Mr Ahmed's agent, Neil Waghorne, said: "We think the decision is totally unrealistic.''

It was Mr Ahmed's second bid to get planning permission after a refusal last year.

The committee turned down the application yesterday on the grounds that there were too few parking spaces and the development would spoil the amenities of a residential area.

Residents who attended the committee with objections said they already suffered from pollution, litter and noise. They said traffic from nearby Cannon Mills was also "absolutely horrendous."

Mr Waghorne told the committee the area was a prominent site on the main road.

"It doesn't help the image of the city as it is. This would upgrade the whole area," he said.

Officers recommended the committee to approve the plan with a restriction on opening hours between 8am to 2am. They said that, despite understandable concerns of residents, they did not consider it would cause enough harm to amenities or road safety to warrant approval.

But Councillor Jack Womersley (Lab, Queensbury) moved the application be refused and members turned the bid down unanimously

l The committee refused a planning application to change the use of a shop in Torre Road, Horton Bank Top, to a booking office.

The committee received three petitions against the plan signed by 240 people and 48 letters of objection, saying it would spoil the residential area and cause road dangers.

But Councillor Ian Greenwood (Labour, Little Horton), who attended in support of the application, said the applicant was not a "cowboy" but a small, reputable family run firm.

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