STANFORD-le-Hope may be about to get another takeaway if plans recently submitted to Thurrock Council win approval.

The Papa John's Pizza chain wishes to take over the former William Hill bookmaker's shop on Kings Parade.

In the application to the council to take over the ground floor space under a number of flats, the company says: "Papa John's was founded in 1984 in Indiana, USA.

"The business has grown substantially since then and is now one of the largest pizza groups in the world with over 4,800 outlets in more than 40 countries. Most of the outlets are owned and operated under a franchise agreement and each can provide up to 20 jobs. In the UK, Papa John's (GB) Ltd operates more than 300 stores nationwide.

"The proposal will support sustainable employment and job growth in the key strategic economic hub of Stanford-le-Hope,

"It is proposed that the hot food takeaway and pizza delivery use would operate from 10am to 11pm Sundays to Thursdays and 10am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It is considered that the proposed opening hours are consistent with the unit's commercial centre location and surrounding uses."

The application has been prepared for Papa John's by Tetra Tech planning, who in their submission to the council attempt to mitigate any potential parking issues by saying: "On the opposite side of King Street is a privately owned public car park which provides parking up to three hours for free, after which the charge is £4 for 24 hours."

In fact the car park, operated by Norwich-based RCP Parking Ltd offers no free parking and the minimum charge to park is £1. The application also says: "And to the rear of the unit lies a hard standing area where vehicles can park and deliveries made."

You can read the full application and make a comment to Thurrock Council's planning department via this link.