A bid to turn a prominent Huddersfield town centre shop into a taxi office has been blocked.
Co-owners, Mohammed Aslam and Mohammed Akram were refused permission for the plan at the former Videotech business at the end of Cross Church Street by Kirklees Council last year.
They launched an appeal but that too has now failed.
The Planning Inspectorate agreed with the council that it was an unsuitable location to operate taxis.
And it was told by police that it could increase problems with anti-social behaviour and late night crime.
Inspector Elaine Gray said the premises opposite Huddersfield Parish Church was an unsuitable location for clients to be picked up.
The site is within Kirklees Council’s bus gates zone and traffic can only get to the location during the day time by approaching from Queen Street, off the ring road.
Mr Akram told the appeal his cars could use Kirkgate during the evening and night but the inspector said there was no-where for cars to pull in as there was a bus stop outside the shop.
She said: “Cars stopping in this area, particularly so close to the Cross Church Street junction, would also be hazardous to pedestrians and other road users.”
West Yorkshire Police also objected to the proposal, saying the taxi firm would cause people to loiter in a high crime area.
“The development would unacceptably increase the potential for crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour in the area,” said the inspector.
Videotech, launched in the mid 1980s, was best known for selling hi-fi and audio equipment, but over the decades also sold TVs and installed satellite dishes and aerials.
The store has now closed.
