Permission granted for new bar and restaurant in fire damaged Brighouse building
A building on Bethel Street is set to be revamped
Planners have given the go-ahead for a bar and restaurant at a Brighouse building which had been damaged by fire.
But Epic Ltd’s proposals for changing use of the Bethel Street building was opposed by two other restaurant owners in the town who were concerned about impact of a new eaterie on their own businesses.
However, Calderdale Council planners have permitted the application.
A heritage statement with the application by LW Interior Design said the building was as previously home to a dry cleaning business which was destroyed by a fire.
“This proposal is to breath life back into the building in creating a restaurant and cafe space for the local and wider community,” argued the statement.
It said internally the building had already been put back to its original layout and externally was a stand-alone premises and the proposal would not affect its look.
The change-of-use is within the same category, the statement says.
The long‑established Meze Restaurant objected, warning opening another nearby restaurant could harm struggling local businesses.
Director of the business, Ali Kurnaz, said his Bethel Street business, which employs 20 people, had been experiencing a 30 per cent drop in both turnover and footfall due to the cost-of-living crisis.
And the owner of the town’s Royal Delhi restaurant at Park Street said the restaurant stayed open during Covid at personal cost, supporting Brighouse despite financial struggles.
The restaurant employs 25 staff but was struggling to survive and another restaurant might tip it over the edge, they said.