Permission has been given for an old bowling green at a Lancaster pub to be used for new shops.
Councillors have given approval for the land behind the Bowerham Hotel in Lancaster to be used for new retail units and parking, despite objections from residents.
The land in question is a walled bowling green, used by the pub's bowls teams until 2015 and most recently as a beer garden, and detached stabling outbuilding behind the Bowerham Road pub.
The planning application is for "Class E units with associated access, parking and loading bay, landscaping, infrastructure and demolition of existing outbuilding".
It plans for a retail/commercial use of a proposed part-two-storey, part-single-storey building.
The new 17-space parking area would be accessed by widening an existing route onto Newsham Road.
There were 63 objections and two observations from members of the public, according to a Lancaster City Council report.
They were worried about a range of issues including more traffic and parking problems locally, adverse impact on existing shops, flood risk, and the potential for reducing house prices locally.
But council planners recommended that the scheme be approved.
Pictured below, the wall of the site at the back of the Bowerham Hotel in Lancaster.
Their report said: "Development of the site has gone through a number of iterations and decisions, primarily resulting in refusal and dismissal of development.
"However, the development has evolved over this period and application process to address a number of points of concern and detraction of development of this location.
"Whilst highways and parking are a contentious matter locally, the design and development has no objection from County Highways, and therefore the proposal is considered to be neutral in this regard.
"Other matters of drainage, open space, ecology and residential amenity can all be mitigated to ensure no adverse impact and policy compliance, similarly all neutral matters in a planning balance.
"The design and external materials of the development have improved significantly over the course of this application and history of applications, and is considered to be appropriate to the setting and congruent to the area through a modest and well designed development."
Pictured below, the Bowerham Hotel from the rear.
The report said that a bowls team that previously used the site has now moved to Highfield.
The land lies between Bowerham Road to the east, and Trafalgar Road to the west, and is bounded by stone walls on both of these sides.
The applicant is a Mr Renwick.
Councillors agreed with the recommendation and voted in favour of the plans, during a meeting of Lancaster City Council planning regulatory committee at Morecambe Town Hall on Monday.
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