Policy Considerations Policy BE3 seeks to promote the vitality and viability of the town centre of St Helier by resisting the loss of ground floor retail uses and residential units, by supporting the conversion of under-utilised upper floors to residential, al fresco activities, pedestrian improvements and streetscape enhancements, and by reducing the adverse effects of traffic. Policy IC21 states that new take-away food outlets will normally only be permitted provided that the proposal - is within the St Helier town centre, local shopping centre or Tourist Destination Area,
- will not unreasonably affect the character or amenity of the area,
- will not have an unreasonable impact on neighbouring uses and the local environment by reason of noise, odour, pollution, visual intrusion or other amenity considerations,
- will not have an unacceptable impact on registered buildings,
- will not lead to unacceptable problems of traffic generation, safety or parking,
- will have no unreasonable effect on the vitality or viability of St Helier town centre or local shopping centre, and
- is in accordance with other policies of the Plan.
Land Use Implications Hot food take-away shops can be a conflicting land use with residential. Potential impacts on residential neighbours can be a high turn-over of customers, unsociable hours, cooking odours and parking problems. Whilst the Island Plan promotes the vitality of the town centre a balance must be struck between highly active uses and residential in some areas. The character of the area is predominantly residential and, although it is within the St Helier town centre, the street is relatively quiet. There are two vehicle maintenance garages to the north-east of the site, however these operate during normal daytime working hours, and are not a source of late night noise or disturbance. At the present time, the only source in the area for late night noise is from the public house opposite the subject site to the south-west. In any case, the consideration must remain to the impact that the proposed change will have on the current situation and amenity of the area. The effect of a hot food take-away within a residential area can sometimes be mitigated through conditions and controls, but in this instance the condition and controls would be so strenuous that it questions the acceptability of the land use change. Size, Scale & Siting The proposal makes no changes to the exterior of the building, except for extraction ducting, and all activity is contained on the ground floor. The scale of the proposed use is relatively small being approximately 105m2 in area. Impact on Neighbours The site is situated within a residential area and is completely surrounded by residential properties. As stated previously, hot food take-away shops can conflict with residential use by virtue of noise, odour, high customer turnover and parking problems. In terms of noise, the agent advises that noise baffles will be used in the extraction system. This may be acceptable in terms of the extraction system, however additional noise to the area will be produced by the use itself through the high customer turnover and the nature of the business. This noise cannot be controlled and thus the consideration is whether this level of activity and noise is acceptable within the area. Although the site is within the St Helier town centre, the immediate area is relatively quiet residential area with late night noise disturbance limited to the existing public bar. The introduction of a hot food take-away will be an additional source of late night noise and disturbance than that which is currently experienced in the area. Given the close proximity of residential properties and the predominance of residential uses in the area, it is considered that further late night uses are unacceptable. In terms of odour from the cooking fumes, this can be carefully controlled through carbon filters, grease filters and appropriate ducting. These can all be conditioned and controlled and thus odour is rarely an issue, however the proposed ducting discharges on the first floor flat roof in close proximity to residential windows on the first floor of the subject property and the neighbouring property. This can be resolved by requesting the ducting to discharger one metre above the roof of the property, however it is considered that the presence of a commercial flue above the ridge line of these residential properties will be noticeable from the public viewpoint and would detract from the residential character of the area. On-street parking has been raised by the local residents as a current issue in the area. There is limited on-street parking and the road is one-way. The introduction of a take-away shop will increase traffic generation to the area, if not significantly by customers, by commercial deliveries, refuse collectors and home delivery drivers. The proposal has no parking provision on-site and thus the introduction of a take-away shop will worsen the current parking issues for neighbouring residents. Access, Car parking and Highway Considerations The proposal does not include any parking provision for staff, deliveries, operational requirements or customers. The proposal does involve a home delivery service but no parking provision or pick-up/ drop-off area has been proposed. The very nature of a hot food take-away results in a high turn-over of customers. The agent argues that the customers will be pedestrians and whilst this may the case for the majority of customers, it is unrealistic to presume that this will be the only customer base. The proposal does not provide any operational parking spaces for commercial deliveries or any parking spaces for home delivery drivers. There are two commercial delivery spaces outside the public bar for use during working hours but normal parking is permitted after hours. These spaces therefore cannot be used for home delivery drivers. On-street parking is limited to approximately 10 spaces within 50 metres radius. However these on-street spaces are used primarily by residents of the area and are rarely unused. Given the limited on-street parking spaces on both Columbus and Albert Street and total lack of any on-site provision, it is considered that a hot food take-away without any parking provision will result in parking problems and highway safety issues. Foul Sewage Disposal The subject property is connected to foul sewer. Waste Disposal There are no proposed waste disposal areas within the building and no public waste bins within the immediate area. The agent advises that waste is to be collected from a private refuse collector but there are no bin store facilities proposed within the building and no parking provision for the collection vehicles. Therefore the waste disposal methods proposed are considered unsatisfactory for the use proposed. | 
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