The owner of an award-winning Indian restaurant says he has no intention to act on planning permission to turn the business into flats - as long as customers continue to show their support.

The Cinnamon Square in Rings Hill, Hildenborough, has been operating since 2012 but owner Habib Siddiq says the impact of Brexit, the pandemic and rising prices have prompted him to consider a back-up strategy.

A planning application to change the venue from a restaurant to nine self-contained flats was approved on June 20.

However, the 46-year-old business owner says he has “no intention of converting to flats” and sought permission as a second option in case anything went wrong.

Habib said: “The pandemic had a knock-on effect on us, so that’s when I had to rethink things and see where I can go and what I can do as a form of back-up – and that’s where the planning came.

“I’m happy it’s been approved but I’m not going to think about it anymore because I have no intention of converting to flats.”

The father-of-three says he decided to go ahead with the application for a range of reasons.

He said: “Brexit at the start was very hard because of the rising costs and staffing issues.

“Then the pandemic came, the closure of restaurant did not help; we did sell takeaways because our local customers are regulars but this restaurant wouldn’t survive just on takeaways.

“Then we had the issue of the Russia/Ukraine situation where gas and electricity prices just soared.”

Habib says these challenges had an impact on the business costs and believes without the pandemic, he would never have considered the conversion.

In the planning statement on the council’s online portal - the application was started during the pandemic - it says: “The premises have not been in use due to a downturn in the market due to the pandemic.

“It is now no longer financially viable to retain the building in a commercial use.”

However, Habib is quick to dispel rumours that The Cinnamon Square is being sold or converted to flats, at least all the while the restaurant is a success.

He said: “I’ve started investing in the place and making changes. We’re changing the lights, crockery, wallpaper and we’re extending the car park for customers – there’s a lot to look forward to.

“Now that the planning is approved it’s nice to know I have a form of back-up, but I have no intention of building any flats.

“The decision has been made – the restaurant isn’t going anywhere.”

Last year, The Cinnamon Square won Asian Restaurant of The Year for the southeast of England, and in 2022 it won Best Restaurant of the Year at the Asian Curry Awards.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Talking of its success, Habib said: “The customers are the priority for us – without their support we wouldn’t have been here 12 years on and won these awards.

“From the day we opened our doors in 2012, it was just busy, busy, busy – we used to do 300 covers on a Saturday night.

“I’m very grateful to all my customers, as long as I have your support, I’ll be here for many more years to come.”