Plans submitted for cycle hire centre
10:10am Friday 26th August 2011
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PLANS to create a cycle hire centre and ice cream kiosk in a former railway shed are to be discussed by councillors amid plans to create more leisure facilities in Richmond.
The application to create the cycle hire point in the Gas House, a grade II listed stone building, has been submitted by the Richmondshire Leisure Trust, which runs the town’s swimming pool, as it
looks to diversify the facilities it has to offer and make use of the buildings it has available.
The Gas House was originally part of the former Richmond railway station, the main building of which has now been transformed into community venue The Station, and is currently used by the leisure
trust for storage.
The plans submitted by the trust show that half of the building would be used for cycle storage and for ice cream sales, with another small section for a cycle hire reception area.
The rest of the building houses the original workings of the Gas House and would be sectioned off to protect them from damage, with an internal window fitted so that they could still be seen.
In a report due to go before the planning committee at Richmondshire District Council, planning officers note that the plans for the cycle hire facility in the Gas House have been largely welcomed,
although concerns have been expressed about the impact of ice cream sales on a nearby ice cream producer in The Station.
Several residents of the Station Cottages, near the site, have also objected to the application on the grounds that it will cause further litter, concerns about drainage and running water and
problems with parking in the area.
In its final recommendations to the planning committee the report from the planning officer said: “I am satisfied that the proposed works would not be harmful to the significance of this grade II
listed building. I am also satisfied that the proposed use would be unlikely to have any significant impact on the tourist and recreational attraction of The Station complex and would not be
harmful to the local economy.”
The application will be discussed at 6.30pm on Wednesday at Swale House, in Frenchgate, Richmond.
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