A bid to extend the opening hours of a restaurant until 3am is dividing opinion.

City Hall planners say they are minded to refuse the application for the as yet unopened establishment in Rooley Lane, Bradford, at the northern end of the M606, but councillors will decide next week.

Hanq Investments has planning permission to open a 60-seat family restaurant and car park at the former Little Chef restaurant site next to a 24-hour petrol station.

Houses immediately border the west of the site and planning permission was given for opening hours to be restricted to between 7am and 10pm.

But Hanq has submitted a proposed variation to Bradford Council asking for the opening hours to be changed to between 6am and midnight Sundays to Wednesdays and from 6am to 3am Thursdays to Saturdays.

Sixteen representations have been received from residents in response to the proposed changes, including a 32-signature petition in objection and a 41-signature petition in support.

Neighbours claim there would be added noise, traffic, anti-social behaviour and nuisance at unsociable hours, but supporters say the restaurant will transform an eyesore at the city’s gateway and will deter the derelict site being used by “unfavourable people”.

According to a report to Bradford Area Planning Panel, the applicant believes that the site being adjacent to two busy roads means noise and activity already causes disturbance to residents so increasing the opening hours would not have any extra material effect.

But officers share the concerns residents.

The report says the proposed opening hours extension “is likely to result in significant harm to neighbours’ amenities by way of generation of noise and disturbance”.

Residents living opposite the building are pleased with the findings.

Michael Worsnop said: “I don’t want to be woken up at 3am. I can only see it being people who have been thrown out of the clubs going there at that time.”

Steve Kay said: “We wish the vendor all the luck and we’re glad he is spending all this money to come to our area but we have young families and it’s quite distressing.”

Resident, Parveen Malik, of Rooley Crescent, supports the extension. She said: “Having spoken to the owners at the site, I am very confident that by bringing back to life this building, it will have a very positive impact on what is the gateway to Bradford. And if to do this and to make their investment viable they need to increase the opening hours, then we fully support this.”