The future of a town centre post office has been left uncertain as plans are lodged to transform the building into a new Pizza Hut.
The American chain could be set to take over 10 St Peters House, at the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Thornaby, after fresh proposals were submitted to Stockton Council.
Proudreed Real Estate, the owners of the shopping complex, want to change the use of the site from its current retail use to a restaurant.
The new proposals have left a question mark hanging over the future of the town centre Post Office, which has been located in its current home for more than 15 years.
A spokesperson confirmed that the site remains open as normal - and has “no plans” to close at this time, having not received any resignation from the postmaster.
A full statement said: “Thornaby Post Office is open as normal and we have not received a resignation from the postmaster, so there are no plans for the branch to close.”
Documents in the planning application show that the proposed Pizza Hut would boast a kitchen space fronted by a customer counter for food service, which would be accessible.
The venue would also have a customer seating area, with documents showing 20 seats across five tables.
Proposed opening hours for the site would be from 11am until 11pm from Monday to Sunday, and there would be up to five members of full-time staff.
There would be no alterations to the shop front, located beside Big Shawarmaz and KFC, although a new internally illuminated sign would be added above the front door and windows.
Pizza Hut Delivery is currently expanding further across the UK, with plans describing the stores as “smart and well maintained”.
The pizza firm already has a number of locations across the region, including restaurants or takeaways in Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Stockton (Teesside Park), and Durham.
It is hoped that the chain - which uses the latest technologies for extraction and cooking to “minimise odours and noise so as to avoid creating nuisance for local residents” - would “enhance the diversity” of the complex and the “vitality and viability of the centre”.
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If approved, this would mark the latest addition to the Pavillion Shopping Centre in recent weeks, following the opening of Farmfoods in the former Lidl supermarket.
The former Wilko was also recently taken over by Poundland, after administrators for the discount chain sold shops to Poundland owner Pepco in 2023.
Consultation for the plans is ongoing until December 9 before the authority makes a decision.
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