Controversial plans for an outdoor seating area within 50 metres of nearby homes outside a Shrewsbury town centre bar will be trialled for a six-month period, a meeting heard.

The Montgomery’s Tower bar and restaurant, in Lower Claremont Bank, Shrewsbury, has been given permission for an outdoor cafe area.

But the seating area will be run on a temporary six-month basis to assess what impact it has on nearby residents and passing pedestrians.

The decision was made at Shropshire Council’s central planning committee yesterday following concerns also raised about an increase in anti-social behaviour.

The application was put in by pub giant J D Wetherspoon, which runs the bar.

Councillor Andrew Bannerman, of Quarry and Coton Hill, said: “It puzzles me why the applicant should want this.

“They already have a huge frontage so it can’t be about advertising and there is already a big outdoor terrace to the rear.”

Miles Kenny, councillor for the Underdale ward, said: “It does affect the vitality of the town centre negatively and there is a potential issue for anti-social behaviour because of reduced crowd control as well as reducing the safety of pedestrians.”

Others council members said they had previously supported plans for outdoor seating in the town but that the application from Wetherspoons was ‘totally inappropriate’ and ‘confusing’.

They also claimed it could clutter a busy thoroughfare.

But Stuart Thomas, Shropshire Council’s central area manager, said: “I fail to see a good planning reason why this should be refused.”

Councillor John Everall said it would be much fairer to trial the proposals over a 12-month period so that the monitoring could take place over the summer months.

Shrewsbury Town Council strongly objected to the plans as well as residents.

The development will now be open from 7am until the early hours of the morning when the bar closes at 2.30am and it will be reviewed after six months.

By David Seadon