TRANSFORMING a former pub into a rooftop bar could create 18 jobs in the city – and there are plans for a dessert restaurant on site too.

The owners of city eatery Hanbao have big plans for the old Toby’s Tavern site, in Sansome Street in Worcester city centre.

They hope to turn the single-storey building, which sits behind their existing property in Foregate Street, into a rooftop bar and dessert parlour.

The £1million extension has received a mixed response, with some residents arguing that the bar will cause disruptive behaviour and excessive noise.

Alex Lam, co-owner of Hanbao, aged 25, said: “We are very keen to be good neighbours. We are aware that residents living on the other side of the road may have concerns, so we are calling in acoustic engineers to make sure any noise from the rooftop bar is kept to a minimum.”

Seb Lam, the other co-owner, aged 28, said: “We have commissioned an eye-catching design which we hope will be popular with our customers and people in the city. The reaction to the plans has mostly been very positive.”

Andrew Jeff, a 56-year-old retiree, who lives in The Hopmarket - opposite the proposed development - said the project will put lives at risk.

He said: “I’ve lived here since 1987 and I’ve seen the Hopper’s Bar and also seen two incarnations of Toby’s Tavern.

“Most people that use this establishment will be parking in the Cornmarket car park. They will walk across Sansome Street in large numbers.

“Traffic down Sansome Street is very quick. After 7pm the traffic gets busier.

“Sansome Street is in Conservation Area 1, it’s full of listed buildings and I feel - as do other residents here - that it’s wholly inappropriate for such an industrial style structure.”

Mr Jeff also thinks the proposed zinc and glass revamp is incongruous with the Victorian buildings in the area.

Some people have also complained about the high number of burger bars in the city, while others have warned about the damage that could be caused to the property next to the rooftop bar.

The planning application proposes the construction of a bar on the second floor of the adjoining three-storey property.

Hanbao plans to demolish a wall in the building to create a walkway onto the rooftop terrace.

It also intends to build another ‘secret bar’ and a kitchen in the property.

Complaints have also been made about seagulls targeting the rooftop bar and an expected influx of ‘loud and exuberant’ youngsters.

The burger bar currently has 22 employees and the brothers hope to hire another 18 workers as part of the proposed development.

The owners added that the application will go before the city council’s planning committee next month.

Hanbao, which means hamburger in Chinese, opened in October last year and specialises in cocktails and burgers.