Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended)

PLANNING PERMISSION REFUSED

APPLICATION REFERENCE: 25/00330/FUL

Name and address for correspondence:

Mr Belal Rashid
BRTA Limited
11 Queen Street
Oldham
OL1 1RD
	Applicant name:

Seraj Ahmed Khan	

Part I - Particulars of Application

Date of Application:	15 May 2025	Application No:	25/00330/FUL	

Proposal:	Change of use from commercial premises (Use Class E) to a self-contained flat (Use Class C3) at first floor and an office space (Use Class E) at ground floor ground floor. Together with alterations to the shopfront and 2 no. new bin stores and cycle store to the rear	
Location:	121 Drake Street, Rochdale, OL16 1PZ, 	

Part II - Particulars of decision

The Rochdale Borough Council hereby give notice in pursuance of the provisions of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) that planning permission has been REFUSED for the carrying out of the development referred to in Part I hereof for the following reason(s).

Reasons:

 1	By virtue of its poor design, the revision of the existing window opening to a double door would not sit sympathetically with, and would disrupt the visual cohesion of the street scene and the patterns of fenestration. In failing to take account of positive characteristics of the surrounding built environment, namely through failing to have regard to the pattern and proportions of fenestration present across the terrace, the development would comprise a harmful and unjustified alteration that would not be well-designed and therefore fails to comply with the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework, Policy JP-P1 of the Places for Everyone Joint Development Plan Document, and Policy P3 of the Rochdale Core Strategy.

Procedure Statement:

The Local Planning Authority offered solutions to the applicant in order to make the development acceptable. The applicant was however unwilling to amend the plans. Without these amendments the development would not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area and therefore does not comprise sustainable development.

Date Decision Issued           18 August 2025

Melanie Hale
Head of Planning Services

IMPORTANT	
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND FULLY UNDERSTOOD THE CONTENTS OF THIS DECISION NOTICE. YOUR ATTENTION IS DRAWN TO THE ATTACHED NOTES.

INFORMATIVE:
The Local Planning Authority’s reasons for its decision are set out in the accompanying officer’s report. 

The proposal would not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area nor does it comply with the development plan and therefore does not comprise sustainable development. There were no amendments to the scheme, or conditions which could reasonably have been imposed, which could have made the development acceptable and it was therefore not possible to approve the application.

For the avoidance of doubt, this decision relates to the following plans:

-	Location plan
-	Proposed site plan
-	Proposed elevations and floor plan: A102
-	Noise Impact Assessment (RP Acoustics Ltd. Ref. NIA/1376/25/441/v1.0/12, Dated 12/05/2025)