THE owners of a Mexican restaurant in Southend High Street have heaved a sigh of relief after planning consent was granted...five months after they initially opened.

Plan Burrito, in the former Warren James jewellers in Southend High Street, celebrated opening back in March but it later emerged the business lacked planning consent to operate as a take-away.

Owners Sharon Riju and Riju Varghese were then told they must submit a retrospective planning application and feared they could have been told to close if the plans were rejected.

However, Southend Council has now granted the application which Sharon has described as a huge relief amid the stress of starting a new business.

She said: “It is amazing, we are really very pleased to get the approval we need, it was a stress at the start, and it has all turned out well, it is a relief and we are grateful."

The planning application followed an enforcement investigation by Southend Council when it was made aware the business had been transformed from a shop into a restaurant without the change of use being approved.

Sharon added that the move is “quite positive for the business.”

“We are happy about the news, it turned out well and the council was just following procedure”, she said.

“Nothing will come back to us in the future, they did the right thing, it turned out well.

“We are a fixture of Southend, and we are hoping we get the support of people going forward, we are extremely grateful for the immense support we have had and we hope it stays.

“Thank you everyone.”

Before approving the planning application Southend Council notified 17 neighbouring properties and no objections were raised.