A POPULAR Leigh burger restaurant hopes to expand with a roof terrace giving diners views across the estuary.

Henry Burgers in the Broadway is set to be squeezed for space when a neighbouring development gets off the ground.

The owners of a car park next to the restaurant have been given planning permission for 20 flats with shops below.

The restaurant had rented storage space on the car park site but this will end when the site is developed.

New storage space is set to be created within the restaurant and to compensate for a loss of dining space, owner Henry Burgess hopes to create more space on the first floor with an outside terrace.

Mr Burgess, who hopes to employ two more staff members if the plans go ahead, said: “They are planning to start building on the car park in September. We rent of piece of land on there and we’re going to lose it so we’re proposing to go up a floor.

“We would lose some covers with a new staircase and alterations so we hope to have covers upstairs. When we went up there to look at what we could do we could see the sea and thought it would be a nice view for customers. We hope the plans go through because if not we will lose space for customers.”

The restaurant had another outlet, in Market Place, Southend where it served up it’s speciality burgers but Mr Burgess closed this in 2016 to concentrate on the Leigh branch.

The existing entrance to the restaurant will remain as it is. The existing kitchen storage area will be reconfigured and upgraded.

The applications says the new plans will improve the visual impact of the current building. The roof terrace will have a glass balustrade.