A controversial extension to a pie and mash shop in a conservation area has been approved.

Robins, in High Street, Wanstead, will now replace an existing retractable awning, which provides outdoor seating for customers, with a permanent conservatory.

Fiona Dunning, head of development management at Redbridge council, recommended the application for approval, but two local community groups opposed it claiming it would be out of keeping with the area.

The Wanstead and Snaresbrook Residents’ Association (WASRA) and the Wanstead Society said they feared it would set a precedent for extensions in High Street.

The regulatory committee last night approved the application at Redbridge town hall in Ilford.

Ms Dunning said the planning team was happy that the design “integrated sympathetically with the building and the conservation area".

She added that a conservation officer had said that the new conservatory would look more visually appealing than the existing awning.

Owner June Robins, who owns four other shops across east London and Essex, spoke at the meeting before a decision was made.

She said the extension was important to the success of her business.

“First of all I have to apologise because I already had planning permission five years ago, all the building material was ready in the factory, but there was delay after delay and here I am again," she added.

“We need this as a business because it would make the outside of the shop look much nicer, my customers ask when the conservatory is coming all the time.

“At the moment we only have five tables in the shop, people are reluctant to sit in the cold under the canopy, so our business will strengthen as a result.”

The application was accepted by the committee as long as it is started within three years and non-opening windows are fixed to make sure there is no encroachment onto the pavement.