A PLAN to change a former Huddersfield pub into a supermarket has been thrown out by councillors.

And alterations made to the historical building without planning permission have been cited by councillors as a main reason for refusing an application.

Angry councillors at the Huddersfield area planning sub committee expressed concerns about work done to the former Junction Inn in Manchester Road, Crosland Moor.

Clr Nicola Turner said: “The building is an eyesore now, it is totally out of keeping.”

And Clr Barbara Jones said: “This was a handsome building in a prominent site which has been horribly disfigured without any planning permission.

“This is sufficient reason alone for me to vote against it.”

The applicant, Mr I Ahmed, who was not at yesterday’s planning meeting, wanted to convert the former pub into a supermarket.

His application sought to partially demolish the building at the junction of Blackmoorfoot Road and Manchester Road and raise the eaves to form a three-storey building.

The plan was to use the ground floor of the building as a retail space and create a 25 space car park on land behind the pub.

The second floor would be offices and storage and the attic would be a three-bedroom flat.

A report to planners said the supermarket has received more than 1,800 signatures backing the plan in the form of a petition.

But Crosland Moor Clr Molly Walton, who along with Clr Mohammad Sarwar, spoke against the plans, said the petition should be disregarded.

She said it had been collected at Beaumont Park Gala and many of the signatures were from people who had no connections with the local area.

She also expressed concerns about the work which had already been carried out on the site, as well as many of the conditions relating to the applications.