The future of the Thornaby town centre Post Office at the Pavillion Shopping Centre was left up in the air in November after proposals were lodged with Stockton Council for a new takeaway.
Proudreed Real Estate, the owners of the complex, wanted to change the use of 10 St Peters House from retail to a restaurant, with the American pizza chain poised to move in.
The Post Office, which has been located in the town centre unit for more than 15 years, said at the time that it had “no plans” to close and remained open as normal.
The application – which detailed how Pizza Hut would boast a kitchen, counter, and a customer seating area – saw several public comments voicing upset over the plans.
One person argued that the Post Office was “vital” for both businesses and people in the community, and is 10/10 with “friendly and helpful” staff.
Another said: “The post office is a vital lifeline to most residents of Thornaby, especially the elderly who rely on this for their banking, and parcel deliveries as this is so accessible to all.”
However, following a consultation process, the Local Planning Authority has decided to reject the proposals at the unit, which is located beside Big Shawarmaz and KFC.
The reason given was that, in the opinion of the authority, the proposed development would result in an “over concentration of non-retail uses within a cluster of Thornaby District Centre”.
The decision notice argued that the impact would be “to the detriment of the vitality and viability of this commercial parade of shops”.
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As previously reported in The Northern Echo, the now declined plans detailed how the new venue wanted to have 20 seats for customers, with opening hours from 11am until 11pm from Monday to Sunday.
This would have marked yet another change to the Pavilion Shopping Centre in recent months if it was green-lit by planners, following the opening of Farmfoods in the former Lidl.
This week, it was also confirmed that Select Fashion Thornaby would be closing at the end of January – with a reason behind the closure not yet known.