ROATH residents fear a quiet street will soon be disrupted by late-night drinking after a new restaurant on Wellfield Road was given the go-ahead today.
Porro, an Italian restaurant chain, has been given planning permission to open a new branch at 57 Wellfield Road.
But neighbours have complained as they fear a proposed outside dining area backing on to Bangor Street would cause disruption.
They also believe they were not suitably consulted about the plans and are angry that permission was granted despite their objections.
A 44-name petition from Bangor Street residents objected to the garden backing directly on to their road and the noise this commercial operation would bring.
Restaurants are not uncommon in the area, but neighbours wanted a constrained licence limiting alcohol consumption to indoors.
The Cameo Club next-door has caused complaints in the past over late-night noise, smoking and drunk and disorderly clients spilling on to the residential street.
Residents fear the number of new bars and restaurants will have a negative impact on the quiet, family-orientated area.
Adam Gordon, a Bangor Street resident, said: “We have been heard at the licensing stage but at the planning stage we felt like we were completely ignored.
“There was no planning hearing so we couldn’t be heard because there was no open forum for us to object.
“On Wellfield Road you have several restaurants and bars and the noise is only going to get worse. Where does it stop?”
Resident Rhys Miles Thomas said he was disappointed with the decision but ultimately “it’s what was expected”.
“We just hope now that everything that they [the planning committee] said will be respected.”
Restaurant owner Jahan Abedi, who owns another Porro branch Llandaff, said: “It’s going to improve the area. Wellfield Road was an upmarket area but it has gone downhill in recent years and we hope to be a welcome addition to the area.”
The licensing committee approved the application for the new restaurant, citing that the “professional and responsible operatives” have a history of not disrupting the neighbouring areas in their other establishments.
Speaking to local residents at City Hall, they added: “We appreciate your worries and concerns and should they prove valid, you have the opportunity to come back to the committee”.
Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “We have to hope for the best and watch them like a hawk to make sure they are keeping to the terms of the license”.
“We don’t want to become another City Road, where we just have restaurant after restaurant”.
Now that plans have been approved, development of the new restaurant is expected to start in the coming weeks.
