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A proposal to redevelop an “idle and vacant” commercial unit in Blackwood has been turned down by council planners.

A funeral director business had been proposed for the rear unit at 79 High Street by applicant Mohammad Jaura, of FM Global.

But Caerphilly County Borough Council planning officers judged the change of use could lead to highway safety problems.

Mr Jaura had argued the site was currently unused and was “attracting antisocial behaviour”.

There had been local interest in another funeral director business for the area, or possibly in the unit becoming a health or weight-loss clinic, he said.

The applicant said his partly retrospective proposal “aims to revitalise the space, reduce antisocial behaviour, and contribute positively to the local community by creating job opportunities and providing essential goods and services”.

Planners said the proposed development could lead to more on-street parking in the rear lane leading to the unit, however.

This “greater intensity” of short-term parking could be “to the detriment of highway safety”, they argued.

Additionally, a lack of “segregated pedestrian facilities” in the lane “would create conflict between customers visiting the site on foot and vehicles using the lane”.

The officers concluded such an “adverse impact on highway safety” was grounds to refuse planning permission for the project.

The application also attracted two objections from nearby residents on a range of complaints, all of which were discounted or addressed except for the claim that “parking arrangements would cause issues”.