The green light has been given for five enterprise units to be built on part of a former nightclub site in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Durata Developments drew up the plans for the units on land at the junction of North Street and Hassell Street, taking up part of the wider site once occupied by Zanzibar.
The nightclub closed more than two decades ago and the site and accompanying car park was acquired by affordable housing provider Aspire Housing in 2019. The nightclub was demolished, and the site has been vacant since.
The adjacent parcel of land is earmarked for a residential development with plans submitted to Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council for 63 one and two-bedroom affordable apartments to be built there but no decision has yet been made.
However, planning permission has been granted for the five units and five parking spaces under phase one of the development of the wider site.
Once developed, they will be sold to the borough council, which will be responsible for their future letting and management.
Six letters of objection were received raising concerns about a lack of parking and impact on highway safety and the impact on The Rigger music venue nearby.
Star Pubs & Bars, owner of The Rigger, and others including the Music Venue Trust, raised concerns about complaints being made about noise coming from the venue.
But an officer’s report relating to the decision reads: “Objections have been received from local residents who are concerned that noise from the nearby music venue ‘The Rigger’ could lead to complaints from future users of these commercial units which would in turn threaten the music venue business’s future operations.
“It should be noted that the Rigger is approximately 100m away from the application site and that the site located in an established urban area which is comprised of a number of different land uses, where a certain level of background noise could already be expected.
“Given that the proposal is for commercial units and not a more sensitive land use such as residential and the fact that the units would be limited to daytime operational hours only it would be difficult for the LPA to sustain a refusal on amenity grounds.”
