A MINEHEAD take-away and diner business battered by the Covid pandemic has finally had its chips and accepted it will never reopen.

Toms Fish Bar, in Summerland Road, was used as a ground floor chip shop take-away and cafe, with a first floor residential flat.

The chip shop closed when the pandemic struck, and since then has been used as retail space for a second-hand shop.

However, planning agent Adam Elston, of Architectural Studio SW Ltd, said the retail use later ceased and the premises were now vacant.

Mr Elston said a local estate agent was instructed in June, 2023, to advertise the unit for rent or sale but after 12 months there had been no interest.

He said: “Summerland Road is not the main shopping thoroughfare and picks up very little passing trade.

“The site area is primarily residential with a mixture of terrace dwellings and flats.”

Mr Elston said the owner now wanted to convert the commercial unit into two residential flats, including reconfiguring the existing first floor flat.

The finished building would then house three flats, one with two bedrooms and the others with one bedroom each.

Mr Elston said the only change to the outside of the building would be the chip shop window, facing Summerland Place being built up and replaced with smaller windows and timber cladding, with the remainder unchanged.

Somerset Council wants to receive any comments on the plans by August 15 and has set itself a deadline to determine the application by September 19.