A bid by American burger chain Five Guys to open its first restaurant in Norwich has been dealt a blow - with objections lodged to its proposal for outdoor seating.

Five Guys has lodged plans with Norwich City Council to open a 120-seater restaurant, spread over two floors in the former Pizza Hut in Orford Place.

However, the city council's own transport officer has objected to the proposals for four outdoor tables and 16 chairs, as has civic watchdog The Norwich Society.

Kieran Yates, transport planner at City Hall, states, in his objection to the seating: 'My concern about the tables and chairs is that the high level of footfall and narrowing of the footway will lead to unacceptable congestion and some pedestrians may step into the road to get past.

'The restaurant chain is currently highly fashionable and is likely to result in queuing on the footway, the application plans includes reference to an internal queue area but this may not be sufficient at popular times.'

The Norwich Society is concerned the signs proposed on the restaurant are too high and that 'there is no room on this busy pavement for outdoor seating.'

A spokeswoman for Bristol-based Pegasus Group, the agents who are acting on behalf of Five Guys, said: 'We are listening to objections and concerns on this matter and we are currently liaising with the council and other authorities to address these.'

In documents lodged with the council, the agents had said the seating would only be at the widest part of the pavement.

They stated: 'The tables and chairs are to be sited only on the widest part of the pavement to ensure that they do not create a 'bottleneck' for passing pedestrian traffic.'

The application is likely to come before members of Norwich City Council's planning committee for a decision.

Founded in the United States, Five Guys has built up a cult following for its burgers with unlimited toppings, hand-cut fries and a large variety of milkshake flavours.