PLANS to open a cafe in Oldham have been turned down by the council after environmental concerns were aired.

A change-of-use application was sent to the local authority to convert the ground floor of a property on Lees Road into a cafe.

The proposals also included a two-storey side extension with an apartment on the first floor.

After the plans were submitted, an objection was made outlining worries over traffic and the prospect of rubbish being dumped on the ground.

The representation said: "The proposed application will affect numerous factors.

"It will generate traffic at an increasing volume which will impact on other business already situated in the locality.

"There is an existing infestation of pest in the area. The cafe will increase litter loitering.

"There should be a community consultation with the area councillors as this proposal will jeopardise the area."

After the plans were scrutinised, the council refused the application.

It was decided the proposals would cause too much damage to the environment.

A report on the plans stated: "The development would result in an adverse impact upon local biodiversity and the visual appearance of the adjacent park through the works required to trees to provide access to the site, digging within the root protection areas of trees adjacent to the site, which is likely to result in damage to their root structures, and the removal of trees for which no mitigation is proposed.

"The proposed development would not improve the economic, social and environmental conditions of the area and therefore does not comprise sustainable development.

"There were no solutions to the scheme, or conditions which could reasonably have been imposed to make the development acceptable.

"It was therefore not possible to approve the application."