Planning for taxi booking office set to be refused for second time

Photo: Google, DigitalGlobe

848 Manchester Road

A change of application to transform an empty shop into a taxi booking office looks set to be refused for a second time.

The end-of-terrace retail unit is part of a parade of shops on Manchester Road, Castleton, which all have flats above them.

The application has been referred back to the planning committee as it is a resubmission of the previous application, and has once again been recommended for refusal.

Earlier this year, Mohammed Razaq’s application to change the use of his vacant shop to a taxi booking office was thrown out by the committee.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/127076/latest-decisions-of-council-planning-committee

The taxi booking office would be open from 8am - 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 8am – 8pm Sundays and Bank Holidays - reduced from opening 24 hours a day as first proposed.

The plan to run a taxi booking office from it was, and has been again, recommended for refusal by officers, due to fears the parking bays outside would be ‘monopolised’ by taxi drivers at the expense of residents and shoppers.

The report says it is "expected that the public parking bays to the front would become monopolised by Private Hire Taxis, which would be detrimental to the businesses in this local centre.

“Taxis would be likely to stop in inappropriate locations and park in illegal and dangerous positions, which would reduce the visibility on a bend on a busy highway.”

Additional reporting: Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporter