VILLAGERS are trying to stop a takeaway being built at the side of a listed pub.

Planners will decide next week if a chip shop can be set up at The Sun Inn.

Lee Roberts has asked Calderdale Council for permission to build an extension to the Grade II listed pub on Wakefield Road in Lightcliffe.

Backers say the new chip shop would improve the appearance of the building – but opponents claim a takeaway would encourage unhealthy eating and increase traffic problems on the main road.

Chartered town planners Sedgwick Associates have submitted a 58-page document supporting the takeaway.

The statement explains that the chip shop extension would cover up the unattractive eastern side of the pub.

It reads: “The applicant wishes to combine a potential business opportunity with a chance to enhance and sustain the character and appearance of the listed building.

“The proposals will enhance an existing elevation that has been in need of improvement since the removal of housing in the early 1950s left it exposed from Wakefield Road.

“The uninviting elevation with boarded windows and exposed pipes detracts from an otherwise attractive listed building. The ventilation system is an eyesore.

“The extension will be made of the same materials as the existing building and is appropriately set back from the main road, ensuring the front elevation is maintained.

“The windows on the first floor which are currently boarded up will be filled in with matching stone, improving the appearance.”

But 23 residents have written to Calderdale objecting to the plan.

Their complaints include:

There are already many takeaways in the area.

The proposal would increase traffic problems, litter and noise.

A takeaway near Hipperholme and Lightcliffe High School would encourage the children to eat unhealthy food.

The flue and signage of the development would damage the appearance of the listed building.

Teenagers will congregate around the takeaway.

Clr Colin Raistrick, who represents the area on Calderdale, has also objected.

The Hipperholme and Lightcliffe independent wrote: “The parking in the area is horrific. It is just not believable that this will be made more tolerable by the passing of this application.

“I am very concerned that odours will not be contained.

“A fish and chip shop yards away from two schools with thousands of pupils does not seem to give the impression that we are serious about tackling the problem of childhood obesity.”

Calderdale’s Planning Committee will decide on the proposal at its monthly meeting at Halifax Town Hall on Tuesday.