Plan to turn former Leicester bank into restaurant approved

The former Al Rayan Bank building in Leicester will be renovated

A former bank in Leicester is to be turned into a restaurant after a planning application was approved.

Leicester City Council has granted permission for restaurant chain Manjaros to transform the former Al Rayan Bank building on the corner of London Road and Saxby Street.

The applicant said the vacant site would be given "a new lease of life".

Plans show the Afro-Caribbean restaurant would be able to sit 56 people at a time in booth-style seats.

A number of neighbours raised concerns about the potential noise and odour impacts of the plan, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

However, 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.