A mystery bar and restaurant operator with more than 40 venues has been given the go-ahead to operate from Ipswich Town Hall.

On Tuesday, Ipswich Borough Council's executive agreed to move forward with plans to enter into a 15-year lease for its customer service centre.

The business taking over the space has yet to be made public, with the council set to contribute towards fitting out the site.

At the meeting, Labour councillor David Ellesmere, leader of the council, said: “This will help the council meet its savings targets.

“Whereas the town hall and Corn Exchange were once empty for large parts of the day, we can now see they are going to be bustling with life, bringing people into the town and helping the local economy.”

The venue is due to open next year with the council expecting business rates of approximately £40,000 a year to be generated.

The officers’ report states the company taking over the site has more than 40 venues in total, including some in East Anglia.

Conservative councillor and executive member Ian Fisher said: “The Conservative group has urged the Labour administration at Ipswich Borough Council to make more use of its assets for some time.

“So, it is really good to see them taking up our ideas and renting out space in the town hall. It is good to see another business wanting to be in Ipswich.

“The disappointing aspect is that the council has once again decided to keep the details of the deal secret, despite the town hall being a publicly-owned building.

“The council tax payers of Ipswich will be paying towards fitting out a business for a private company to make a profit and will get very little in return.

“If public money is being used to fund these deals then the details should be publicly available.

“I have seen the details of the deal and Ipswich Borough Council will not see a financial return on this deal for many years, if ever.”

The leasing of the customer service centre was part of a set of measures to offset inflation agreed by Ipswich Borough Council in July.

The council plans to find another town centre location for face-to-face customer service provision.