SEP Properties Ltd won approval to construct a new shop at the site of a former petrol station on Bardolph Road in Bungay in February.

Now Co-op have submitted an application to East Suffolk Council for a premises licence for the site.

The new convenience store will be a single-storey, 4,000 square foot building with a car park to the rear.

The site is now vacant after the previous structures were demolished (Image: Google Maps)

However, the plans have proven controversial with Bungay Town Council and seven locals objecting to the bid.

A spokesman for Co-op said: "We have exchanged contracts on the site, and are pleased to have the opportunity to open a new convenience store to serve and support the community.

"A new Co-op store would create local jobs, and have a focus on being a community hub - providing quality and value which can be enjoyed by everyone, along with a range of added services."

The new shop would join an existing Central Co-op store and petrol station on Hillside Road.

The site of the new store is next to a Grade II listed building (No.4 St John's Road) (Image: Gould Singleton Architects)

Alongside new planting, the store will also install a parcel service locker for locals to send and receive packages.

The new premises licence application seeks permission to sell alcohol between 6am to 11pm every day.

The development site is outside of but adjacent to the Bungay Conservation Area, and is situated next to a Grade II listed building, number 4 St John's Road.

The former Gulf petrol station on Bardolph Road, at the junction with St John's Road, in Bungay (Image: Google Maps)

Bungay Town Council objected to the bid and had said: "The application does not demonstrate a positive contribution to the vitality or viability of Bungay's town centre.

"As a standalone retail unit with its own parking, it is likely to draw footfall away from the core town centre, which comprises predominantly independent and heritage-linked businesses."

Locals' concerns related to insufficient parking, anti-social behaviour, and privacy.

Co-op will lease the store from the developer after it is built and hopes the new shop will open in 2027.

© Eastern Daily Press