Signage erected for shawarma shop that could replace Middlesbrough Cooplands - but it can't open yet

A former Cooplands store has been transformed - but it cannot open its doors.

A shawarma shop has replaced the former bakery chain, at 473 Linthorpe Road, after it closed its doors in 2023. Shawarma Village has erected black, red and orange signage at the new Middlesbrough eatery, without planning permission.

The new Shawarma Village appears to be a brand new business venture, with Shawarma Village Limited being incorporated on February 13, 2024, according to online documents. The company has a registered address at the same location and Hamad Ahmed Ali is listed as the director.

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Work appears to have started at the Linthorpe village site, next to Chris’s barber shop and Butterwick House Hospice Shop, in March. However, Middlesbrough Council has now confirmed that it has contacted the owner and the property should not be used until planning permission has been sought.

A Middlesbrough Council spokesman said: “We have contacted the owner to make them aware that planning permission is required, and the property should not be used in the interim. Any work undertaken prior to the consideration of a planning application will be at their own risk.”

Residents in the area have had a mixed reaction to the new store. Some are of the opinion that it Is "better than it being an empty unit" or a "permanently closed shop front". However, others aren't happy that the former Cooplands store is "yet another takeaway".

"We need a supermarket not more takeaways," one person said. "All we have is Heron - we really need a supermarket."

Speaking about the eatery, one Teesside Live reader, who wanted to be only known as Jacob, said: "Council planning disapproved and rejected numerous takeaways in the area for planning." Quoting planning documents, he stated that there has been plans rejected at 429 Linthorpe Road for the change of use from a retail store to a hot food takeaway in June 2020.

Teesside Live has attempted to contact Shawarma Village for more information.