MasterChef winner Eddie Scott gets licensing approval for Beverley restaurant

Eddie Scott's bistro will serve French and Indian cuisine

MasterChef winner Eddie Scott has been granted permission to open a restaurant in Beverley.

L'Opaline Bistro will be at 36 Highgate and will serve French and Indian food for 18 to 20 customers at a time.

Neighbours hoping to buy the house next door have expressed concerns about its opening hours.

The application was approved by East Riding of Yorkshire Council at a meeting on 12 February.

Eddie Scott outside his new Beverley restaurant

Mr Scott, from Beverley, who was the 2022 MasterChef champion, said he aimed to offer "high-end dining" without disturbing people nearby, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The restaurant, which will take the place of a former bed shop, will serve alcohol and be open from 10:00 to 23:00 GMT, seven days a week.

Only customers seated at tables in the restaurant will be served alcohol as part of licensing conditions that are intended to prevent it from becoming a bar.

'Increased footfall'

Mr Scott said the bistro will be a "professionally managed operation" and staff leaving in the early hours "will not be an issue".

John Branton and Christine Robinson, who are in the process of buying the house next door to the bistro, said it will be open much longer than The Monks Walk, a pub on the same street.

The couple said they are worried it will bring "increased footfall" to the area, including attracting people from further afield.

Mr Scott told the council rubbish bins will be kept in a secure yard and glass bottles will be disposed of during sociable daylight hours.

The chef, who has cooked with Gordon Ramsay, said opening a restaurant in his home town would be a "dream come true".