COUNCIL bosses are looking to pave the way for a ground-breaking £4 million restaurant even though it could harm their own plans to redevelop Brighton Town Hall.

Officers have recommended Moshimo restaurant be allowed to sign new leases to allow its 85ft high extension, Skylight, in Bartholomew Square to go ahead.

The recommendation goes against the advice of independent experts who warn the restaurant could harm the council’s own £10 million plans to redevelop the Grade II listed building into a business hub.

If the agreement is backed by councillors next week, Moshimo co-founder Karl Jones said the boldly designed building could be in place within eight months.

But conservation experts are urging committee members to use the opportunity to halt the plans claiming they will disfigure the city centre.

While the design has failed to get the blessing of amenity societies, it has impressed several big name restaurant groups who have tried to buy the site off its creators before it has even gone up.

Under the proposals, Moshimo would have a new lease for its expanded ground floor restaurant and a lease of air space in Bartholomew Square and roof space at Bartholomew House for the Skylight extension.

The council commissioned a report from Savills on the benefits and impacts of granting the lease which recommended against granting a lease, warning it could stymie future development opportunities and reduce the site’s attractiveness.

The report warned allowing the development would make it less attractive to third party occupiers, reduce sunlight into offices and reduce opportunities to convert its customer service centre into shops. It also warned about security risks because emergency access from the restaurant would be into stairways in Bartholomew House.

Council officers discounted the advice, claiming the wider benefits of job creation, additional business rates and regeneration outweighed the disadvantages.

The scheme is set to more than triple Moshimo employee numbers from 35 full-time staff to 49 in the expanded ground floor restaurant and up to 75 in the Skylight.

Mr Jones said there would also be “an incredible” increase in business rates and local firms would beheavily involved.

He added: “There has been some delay but there were no surprises that we didn’t know about. The council have been amazing to be fair. Their advisers will have their own views when they work within a certain set of parameters and they never want that advice to come back in their faces.

“It has been designed in such a way it could just be picked up and put anywhere. We’ve had big brands make enquiries but we want to use it ourselves after putting in all this graft.”

Roger Amerena, from Brighton and Hove Heritage Commission, said: “If Savills, who are very respected, say it could harm the possibility of the town hall scheme being a success, to ignore that I think is incredible.

“If the historical views from Brighton Town Hall are disfigured, that is disgraceful and I would urge councillors to vote against this.”