'Struggling restaurant' to become hotel rooms

Tavan restaurant at the Pearl Hotel opened seven years ago

A former Turkish restaurant will be converted into extra rooms as part of an expansion of an adjoining hotel.

Tavan opened in the Pearl Hotel in Peterborough's Lincoln Road seven years ago, but closed permanently earlier this month.

Businessman Zillur Hussain MBE submitted a planning application to the city council to increase the number of rooms at the hotel from 25 to 32. Which was approved on Friday.

Mr Hussain told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that those running the on-site Tavan restaurant were "struggling to pay rent" to him and that the business was "dead".

It was noted in the planning documents that while the hotel was experiencing an increase in demand, the restaurant was struggling to generate sufficient trade and was deemed "no longer viable".

No additional parking spaces will be created due to the number of spaces already at the site.

The layout of the new rooms will be similar to the existing room arrangement on the first floor with limited external alterations, according to the plans.

Mr Hussain's planning application received four objections, with concerns over high crime rates and overpopulation.

But city council planners said the concerns carried "very little weight".