Move complete for oldest curry house

The Padma restaurant unveiled its new home in High Green Court, Cannock, with a party for almost 200 guests. The restaurant, which has been in Walsall Road, Cannock, since 1970, has been embroiled in a five-year wrangle over its previous premises, which was delaying a £50 million regeneration scheme on the edge of the town centre.

The Pritchard Group's Avon Plaza development would see an eight-screen cinema, bowling alley, 60-bed hotel, more restaurants, shops, offices, a wellbeing centre, and 14 flats built on land off Walsall Road.

Padma director Tarak Ludhi said the stand-off – which could see a compulsory purchase order issued on the Walsall Road premises – was between the landlord of the building and the developer.

"We were the leaseholders, it didn't have anything to do with us," he said.

"It's been going on for five years and we were stuck in the middle. So we decided to move on."

The Walsall Road restaurant closed on Saturday.

Mr Ludhi said that he was sad to say farewell to the spot where Padma has stood for almost 40 years, but added that the move represented a fresh new start for the restaurant.

He said: "It's sad in a way, we've been there for a long time and we have a lot of loyal customers.

"We've had people coming in and telling us stories about how they've been coming in since they were teenagers.

"But it's also exciting, it's a better premises in a better location – it's a fresh start for Padma, and no more worries about Avon Plaza."

The owner of the Walsall Road building turned down an offer to move off the site in May.

Cannock businessman Fred Pritchard, managing director of the Pritchard Group, has said the firm would pursue a compulsory purchase order to enable the scheme to move forward, but that he hoped the measures would not be necessary.