Developers at a Sheffield business park have had plans agreed for a trendy cafe, enabling a popular lunch spot to relocate and become a more permanent fixture.

ARBA Group submitted plans to Sheffield City Council to install a funky, single-storey, shipping container based unit and external eating area on site at Meadowhall Business Park.

The new unit, signed off by city planners, will enable expansion of an existing mobile catering unit, which has been trading since 2003 on Carbrook Hall Road, opposite the business park.

Andrew Allen, director at ARBA Group, said: “The business park has become home to around 300 employees as we continue to fill available accommodation on site.

“The existing mobile unit has become a popular choice for these employees and visitors to the business park as well as various large businesses nearby including Santander, Sheffield Forgemasters and South Yorkshire Police.

“The site of the new permanent unit is currently an unused border within the grounds of Meadowhall Business Park. Having a new cafe at MBP not only adds to the current facilities on-site but will allow for the expansion of the existing catering business offer.”

Mobile catering unit co-owner Mandy Clarke added: “I am really looking forward to progressing to the next level with the catering business. With the container cafe at Meadowhall Business Park we will be able to offer a larger choice of food and provide seating so that people can really get away from their desks for a bite to eat.

“Many of our customers have been with us since I started in 2003. I’ve even been invited to weddings by customers including Sikh wedding and a Santander staff wedding. We have even had customers who called in on their way down from Scotland, after we were recommended to them.”

The container cafe will be accessed via doors located along the short end of the unit on the business park and a serving hatch will be provided along the Carbrook Hall Road side for customers. An external seating area will be provided for customer use, next to the unit.

It will be painted with a grey finish to match the contemporary colour scheme of the development.

Property developers ARBA Group has transformed five former Sheffield City Council office blocks into more than 70,000 sq ft of commercial business space at Meadowhall Business Park. Only 7,500 sq ft remains available at the park being marketed by Knight Frank in Sheffield.

Businesses already attracted to the park, which currently sustains more than 300 jobs and is being marketed by the Sheffield office of Knight Frank along with Campbell & Co, include Capgemini, Tuffnells, GMB union, NG Bailey, Auburn Ainsley Limited, Chique Photography, KitchenEx, Preventx, Wilford Smith, Eaton Commercial Property Consultants Ltd and Galaxy Insulation and Dry Lining (Holdings) Limited.

Meadowhall Business Park, which has available modern open plan suites with comfort cooling plus generous on-site car parking, is located opposite Sheffield’s IKEA and boasts excellent transport links being less than one mile from M1 Junction 34, two miles from M1 Junction 33, six miles of the M1/M18 intersection and 25 miles of the M1/M62 intersection. It is also easily accessed by bus and the Supertram.