The owner of a Darwen cafe whose bid to turn the premises into a hot food takeaway has been turned down twice by planners has appealed their refusal of his scheme.

In March, Blackburn with Darwen Council rejected Kamaran Salih's second application to convert his Finest Mixed Grill restaurant at the junction of Sarah Street and Olive Lane.

After the first application was rejected, it was revealed the café has been operating without authorisation for 10 years and the council was set to take enforcement action to close the business.

The refusal notice said the premises use as a takeaway would have an unacceptable impact on neighbours due to customers frequently coming and going causing parking and traffic issues as well as noise problems.

Now Urban Future Planning Consultancy Ltd has appealed the decision to the government's Planning Inspectorate on behalf of Mr Salih.

An appeal statement says: "Numbers 84 to 86 Sarah Street, Darwen,have long operated as a hot food establishment since 2005.

"Over the last decade, the property has been occupied by three different hot-food commercial tenants offering various cuisines.

"Given that the appellant has invested considerable amounts of money, time and resources in bringing to fruition a successful business which not only promotes consumer choice within the locality, but also employs four local people in a deprived area of the borough, he is committed to retaining the business

"Given that the site has long been in use as a café / hot food establishment the use of the property ought to be immune from enforcement action.

"The appeal proposal ought to be viewed in the context of job retention and business formation, especially at a time of a post-Covid, stagnant economy.

"The appellant does not agree with the council’s assessment that the provision of a hot food takeaway would lead to 'late night noise and disturbance'.

"The closing time of the proposal is considered to be in keeping with the ‘inner urban’ area and there is evidence of other uses such as convenience stores and public houses that have similar closing times.

"According to the decision notice, the proposed hot food takeaway fails to demonstrate how public health issues have been taken into account .The appellant does not agree.

"The site is located a considerable distance away from the nearest schools and does not operate during school opening hours.

"Moreover, the cuisine offered comprises ‘mixed grill’ and does not feature fried food.

"There are no other hot food takeaways nearby and so its retention would not result in an over-concentration of hot food uses within the area."

A spokesperson for Blackburn with Darwen Council said: “The reasons for refusing the planning application were clearly set out in the decision notice and included the impact of late night noise and disturbance on neighbouring residents."