Planning permission is being sought to replace an Indian restaurant in Stevenage High Street with a chicken shop, while retaining the existing Indian takeaway service.

A planning application for the Taste of India premises, which have been under renovation for some time, has been submitted to Stevenage Borough Council.

It seeks permission to change the use of the building to a chicken shop with seating on the ground floor, and an Indian takeaway/delivery service on the first floor.

In a supporting statement accompanying the application, it says: "The chicken shop element at ground floor will retain an active frontage, with counter and some seating. This will generate greater footfall than the existing Indian restaurant, who have struggled since Covid to fill out the restaurant, and also only open from 5pm.

"The current owners are tied into a long lease agreement and therefore have had to look at other ways to generate income since Covid.

"The restaurant currently runs a successful takeaway service and this is the reason they are applying to retain a takeaway kitchen at first floor, which has always been the kitchen for the restaurant."

The proposed hours for the chicken shop are midday to 1am Monday to Sunday, and for the Taste of India takeaway/delivery they are 5pm to 11.30pm Sunday to Thursday, and 5pm until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. 

The supporting statement says the proposed opening hours "would not have a negative impact" on neighbours, and that "there is no conclusive evidence that [takeaways] contribute to a rise in anti-social behaviour or crime."

The application for the two separate hot food takeaways includes replacing the existing shopfront, which the applicant says "would be in keeping with the surrounding commercial properties".

Concluding, the supporting statement says: "The proposal will ensure that the unit remains in a viable economic use to the benefit of the High Street's vitality, and the owner already has a prospective tenant waiting to take on the lease at ground floor. "

To view the application in full, and have your say, visit stevenage.gov.uk and search for reference 24/00096/FP in the planning portal.