An application to turn a former hairdressing salon into a Poppins Restaurant has been submitted to Ashford Borough Council.

If successful, the proposal will see a branch of the popular chain of restaurants mainly based in Sussex and Hampshire arrive in Ashford town centre.

It would fill the vacant retail unit previously operated by Toni&Guy hairdressers.

The Poppins restaurant association was established in 1979 and has 36 town centre locations in the UK, many of which are in the south east. Each restaurant is privately owned and operated.

The restaurants provide a waiting service with an ‘all day’ menu including breakfasts, grills, fish, steaks, omelettes, burgers as well as sweet treats such as knickerbocker glories.

The application includes proposed opening hours from 8am until 6pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am until 4pm on Sundays, as well as installation of exterior ducting for an extraction ventilation system. The applicant will not be applying for a drinks licence.

In the application letter, site agent John Robinson states: “The restaurants attract up to 500 customers per day, so it is considered that the proposed use would generate similar
customer activity.

“It needs to be highly visible to potential customers and location is therefore essential to the success of the business.

“Such is the popularity of Poppins Restaurants, it will raise the profile of the frontage and encourage other retailers to occupy other empty units in the town.”

The application proposes that there would be four full-time members of staff and six part-time workers.

Comments on the ABC application, numbered 17/00684/AS, are open until Monday, May 29.