10:41am Wednesday 6th June 2001
HARPENDEN looks set to get a new caf after district councillors granted permission for a semi-conversion of a house in Leyton Road.
At a meeting of the plans north sub-committee on Monday night, district councillors opted to grant permission for a change of use for number 20a after a heated debate over its impact on the conservation area.
Although the applicants want to keep the property partly residential, they hope to transform the gable front area into a caf, claiming that adequate parking is provided just 400 metres away.
But Councillor John Chambers said: "It's sad to see a very nice property being changed yet again in the conservation area.
"It would be of better use to the community used as a residential property in keeping with the character of Harpenden, there's just no need for it."
But Councillor Gillian Clark disagreed, saying: "I'm quite jealous. We in Wheathampstead would be quite envious of Harpenden with its high number of local shops.
"It's a good setting, we can imagine someone having a really nice little caf. If the area's full of cafs it won't be a salubrious place to live and would otherwise fall to rack and ruin."
Councillor Chris O'Donovan said that he thought the plan would be a "real asset to the town".
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