PLANS for an Italian restaurant in Knutsford which sparked dozens of letters of opposition from residents are back on the table.

Marial Prota from Linea Verde Ltd submitted an application in November to open the restaurant in vacant premises in Canute Place.

The application to Cheshire East Council sought prior approval for a change of use of the premises to a restaurant.

It sparked about 40 objections from residents concerned about the impact of the planned restaurant on another Italian restaurant opposite, and was withdrawn in December.

The application was also opposed by Knutsford Town Council and the regulatory services and health department at Cheshire East Council.

The town council said: “The proposed change is inappropriate for the property by virtue of the required ventilation and proximity to residential dwellings above.

“The council is concerned the use and lack of seating within would result in seating ‘spilling out’ into the pavement, creating a highway obstruction and the town economy could not support another Italian restaurant in this location opposite an established similar business.”

Cheshire East Council recommended the application be refused, stating the nearness of residential premises to the proposed restaurant meant the impact of noise, odour, storage and hours of opening had to be addressed.

An officer said: “Insufficient information has been submitted with the application to adequately assess if there is likely to be a significant loss of amenity caused by noise and odours associated with the proposed A3 use.”

The application has now been resubmitted, along with an acoustic survey and details of a proposed extractor fan and air conditioning.

The application said the restaurant would open between 9am and 10pm, and to ensure sound and odour efficiency an exhaust fan would be installed in the kitchen at the back of the property, with the exhaust pipe exit on the rear wall up to the roof.

The applicant said: “To ensure the impact of the sound of the exhaust pipe would not disturb neighbouring residents we have hired a sound engineer to perform a sound survey.

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"The exhaust hood we have chosen is perfectly suitable to extract odour for any type of cuisine, with the added bonus of being one of the more silent models on the market.

“Although the restaurant will be located in a shopping area there is no undesirable impact anticipated from the restaurant, being that it will attract customers for both the shops and the nearby pubs and cafes.”

The deadline for comments on the application, 20/0759M, is March 25.