Restaurant set to move into former city bank
OBJECT - BUT PERMISSION IS GRANTED
A NEW Afro-Caribbean restaurant is on the cards for the city’s London Road.
Manjaros, which has 18 restaurants and takeaways across the country, is planning to open its next store in Leicester.
The city council has granted the group permission to transform the former Al Rayan Bank building on the corner of London Road and Saxby Street into its newest restaurant.
Alterations include new, larger windows on the ground floor, an extraction flue and a temporary fridge/freezer area at the rear of the building.
According to its website, the chain serves up dishes “based on a blend of African and Caribbean flavours”.
The food on offer includes curries, rice and pasta dishes, burgers and wraps, and its speciality chicken parms.
Manjaros started out in Middlesbrough, but now operates in multiple cities including Birmingham, London, Newcastle, Leeds and Preston.
Plans show the Leicester restaurant would be able to sit 56 people in boothstyle seats.
The applicant said expanding into the London Road premises would “revitalise an existing vacant building with a new lease of life”.
However, some neighbours raised concerns about the potential noise and odour impacts of the plan.
One letter of objection, which was signed by six people and sent to the council, said: “We fear there would be too much noise from the extractor flue and the temporary external fridge and freezer structure.
“Looking at the plan of the flue, we are concerned that it is too low and the smell would enter our premises when the windows are open as it would be too close.”
Planning officers said they were satisfied the proposal was acceptable when the impact on neighbours was considered and any noise concerns could be mitigated through conditions attached to their approval of the plan.