A THAI restaurant is to open in Westbury after a battle with planning officials ended in victory for the owner.

Nuy Warburton, 40, of Upton Scudamore, who bought the derelict building at 26 Warminster Road with the intention of turning it into upmarket restaurant Thai Orchid, said she was delighted permission had finally been granted.

She bought the empty shop in April 2005 but planning permission was refused by West Wiltshire District Council after nextdoor neighbours Peter and Gillian Sim said their quality of life would be ruined by late night revellers, noise and smells if the restaurant went ahead.

Mrs Warburton appealed against the decision and it was overturned by the Planning Inspectorate last week. She said: "I'm very pleased; over the moon. I've been waiting a long time for this. It has been my dream to open my own restaurant for 10 years.

"The decision to refuse permission was made in December and I was so upset I almost cried. Now it has been granted on appeal."

The planning permission includes conditions on opening hours and delivery times to avoid aggravation to neighbours.

The restaurant can only open between 12-3pm and 6-11pm Monday-Saturday and 12-3pm on Sunday and Bank Holidays. Mr Sim said he and his wife were disappointed with the news, after the district council recognised the couple would suffer a loss of amenity.

He said: "The guarantees WWDC will be providing us with by ensuring these conditions are imposed and met in perpetuity are encouraging but we remain sceptical that the targets required can or will be met to ensure we do not experience loss of amenity.

"We remain totally committed to protecting our quality of life by ensuring all conditions are met now and in the future." Mrs Warburton has plenty of experience working in catering but is looking forward to running her own restaurant.

"I bought the property about a year ago. The building was derelict but we have done it up and spent a lot of money on it," she said.

"It's going to be fantastic and I think it will be very important for Westbury because it will bring people into the town as there will be more choice for an evening out.

"Thai Orchid will be an upmarket place and everything will be imported from Thailand.

"The restrictions aren't that good for business but I've got to accept them because what else can I do?"

She is hoping the restaurant will open by September at the latest. Mr and Mrs Sim said earlier that they were worried about their quality of life. There is already a Chinese and an Indian restaurant nearby and the couple feel another will mean more late noisy late night revellers.

Their main objection to the plans was that their master bedroom and the restaurant's kitchen would only be separated by a nine-inch wall and they were concerned about how smells and noise could be controlled.