PLANNING law changes that enabled the controversial approval for a new Chinese takeaway in Worcester could cause the city council a raft of problems.

That is the verdict of Worcester City Council deputy leader Adrian Gregson who represents the patch where the new establishment will be.

City council planners gave permission for the Chinese restaurant to be opened by Tianxia Chen on Astwood Road, Rainbow Hill, through a delegated decision – one that does not need to be ratified by councillors – a year after a similar application by another trader had been refused.

Mazedul Hasan Shakil, manager of Balti Mahal which is also on Astwood Road, called for a “rethink” and stated there are already 10 food establishments within half a mile, six of which are within 200 yards of each other.

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Some neighbours had said there were already enough takeaways and restaurants in the area and pleaded for planners to reject it, while others were concerned by the lack of parking in an already busy area and complained that driveways regularly got used as places for cars to turn around.

But Councillor Lynn Denham revealed via Facebook “that it's Westminster who changed planning policy, not Worcester”.

Her post continued: “The first fast food application could be refused by the council in order to protect retail premises (but) when the second fast food application came in, the government had expanded the definition of retail to include estate agents, restaurants, cafes & offices.

“Coronavirus regulations also mean businesses can operate a takeaway service until April 2022. This meant the council planning officers no longer had a legal way to refuse a fast food application.”

Cllr Gregson stressed it was not a matter that he had investigated thoroughly but warned such decisions could make for problems across the city.

“I don’t want to stymie business opportunities by any means but you do have to look at the context of the area,” said Cllr Gregson.

“Bearing in mind a Chinese takeaway just around the corner closed around two years ago, I am not sure if that context has been considered by officers or people who may have objected.

“The situation we are in because of planning law means there would be no opportunity to refuse the application.

“It wasn’t something I investigated at the time but I know there are going to be issues, not just there but across the city, maybe in some of the retail areas that have closed down, in relation to what the owners put inside.

“Where has the local development decision making gone as a result of these changes?”

“The issues we are now seeing come through in some areas as a result of changes to planning class uses are very difficult.

“It means many people are not able to make local decisions as they used to, particularly when it comes to change of use.

“In the past we could reasonably differentiate between retail, commercial, education and hospitality but that has all changed in an attempt to create simplicity and remove so called red tape but it has actually given free rein to businesses to do what they want regardless of local feeling.”