Plans to turn a former Kenilworth charity shop into a restaurant have been signed off by Warwick District Council (WDC).

Loungers UK Ltd first revealed the scheme for the former Shakespeare's Hospice Shop in September, submitting a planning application to convert the vacant unit into a "café/bar/restaurant".

The proposal said the nationwide chain - which already has over 200 branches - wanted to extended the Abbey End building to fill the gap between the existing shopfront and the walkway to the nearby car park.

Plans stated up to 30 jobs would be created through the restaurant, bringing back to the life the empty unit which has been vacant since the charity shop closed in early 2020.

A drawing of the planned extension (image via planning application)

"The proposals are considered to respect the character of the locality, which comprises buildings of varied design and scale," a council report said, signing off planning permission.

"The proposed extension is not considered to compete with the existing surrounding development and is considered to sit comfortably within the application site. Officers consider the detailing, form and scale of the proposal to be of high quality."

The council has said more detail on the noise from the kitchens must be considered before the development goes ahead, following comments from Kenilworth Town Council.

The venue has also been granted an alcohol licence, meaning it can serve booze from 10am to midnight, seven days per week.

It will also allow the venue to serve alcohol through the night on New Year's Eve until "the start of permitted hours on New Year's Day".

The application refers to the site as 'Kenilworth Lounge'.

The company opened its 200th Lounge branch in Buckingham in September, offering food and drink all day.

Lounge said at the time it places an "emphasis on community" and a new branch normally sees a £1 million investment in the high street.

The company has 238 sites across the three brands and says it wants to open at least 600 Lounges across the UK.

See the full licence application here and planning application here.