A SWISH Worcester restaurant and bar has been blocked in an audacious bid for a big expansion - amid a bitter row with a next door cafe.

Bindles, a plush brasserie in Sidbury, wants to build a huge glass-fronted extension and stylish roof-topped terrace looking out onto the City Walls Road.

But the move, which would see the popular haunt expand by around 40 per cent, has fallen foul of Worcester City Council and heritage watchdogs after:

- The owner of Charlie's Cafe, which has been trading next door for 28 years, said it damage her business, intrude on her privacy and cause more disturbance

- Councillors said the "scale and size" of the development would damage the historic Fort Royal Conservation Area it sits in

- Fears that drivers heading down City Walls Road, one of Worcester's busiest routes, could be "distracted" by the extension

Fran Fosh, who runs Charlie's Cafe, said: "Does this development enhance the appearance and character of the Conservation Area?

"There is a great fear Bindles will become too large, with too high (business) rates to carry on as an independent business."

She said in future years she was worried it would "become a Costa", killing her cafe.

Mrs Fosh, who also lives on-site, said: "I can hear them at 2am chucking bottles away - the noise and the intrusion, especially with that terrace will be horrendous.

"My back garden will not be somewhere I'll want to go because of this."

Seven objections were made in total around the loss of a trees and drainage issue while the city's Conservation Advisory Committee, a heritage watchdog, called it "visually intrusive".

The extension would create around 150 square metres of extra floor space on top of the 355 square metres now - room for around 40 more diners.

Philip Rawle, who appeared at a planning committee meeting for Bindles, called it a "highly sustainable location" and rejected the criticism.

"This will be a relatively modest extension to the existing building," he said.

"It could not be any further away from the other properties.

"This is a good example of a local business seeking to improve its contribution to the local economy."

Planning officers recommended it should go ahead, saying it would offer a "measure of enhancement" to the Conservation Area.

But the committee disagreed, voting to defer it and instead ask Bindles to come back with revised proposals.

Councillor Robert Rowden, who claimed it would "distract drivers", said: "Is this really right for a Conservation Area?"

Councillor Lynn Denham said: "I've had concerns from the outset about the size and scale of this, the impact on our heritage assets, the design, and amount of local objections - it's in such an historic part of the city."