Plans have been approved to open a sushi bar and takeaway in an empty shop near Ipswich town centre. 

The plans included a change of use from a vacant shop into a restaurant located at 6 St Helen's Street, opposite Ipswich Regent Theatre. 

The applicant also sought permission from Ipswich Borough Council to make alterations to the 17th-century timber-framed Grade II listed building. 

Alterations will include repainting the windows and shopfront to a matte black, installing wall panelling for a "more hygienic surface finish", installing bench seating, and changing white plaster walls inside into plywood. 

Ipswich Star: Sushi bar and takeaway will open on St Helen's Street, opposite the Ipswich Regent Theatre, Google MapsSushi bar and takeaway will open on St Helen's Street, opposite the Ipswich Regent Theatre, Google Maps (Image: Google Maps)

The application is being made retrospectively as the applicant has already started alterations to the site, not being aware of the building's historical importance. The works had been halted pending a listed building application. 

The new sushi bar would create one new full-time job and be open from 10am to 12am every day. 

As it is within the town centre cordon, no parking spaces will be created by this development.