Planners to rule in battle over barrier

Shopkeeper seeks permission to keep it in place after installation leads to row with neighbours over parking

- Sentinel Reporter

BOROUGH planners will decide whether a controversial barrier can stay in place following a row over car parking.

The barrier sparked outrage when it was installed this summer as neighbours in Talke claimed it left them unable to park outside their own homes.

They say they used the private road off Unity Way for decades until the barrier appeared, leaving one neighbour unable to access their own drive. Another cannot reach their garage.

Now, following a formal complaint about the barrier, landowner Sivabalan Balamurali is seeking permission to keep it in place. He has submitted a retrospective planning application to Newcastle Borough Council.