A popular cookshop in a historic Marlow town centre building, which was set to close after plans to turn it into a restaurant were given the green light, will now stay open for the “foreseeable future”, it has been announced.

Steamer Trading Cookshop in the former Market Hall, at the top of the High Street, said it was moving out of the building in June after almost a decade, and that it was looking for new premises in the town.

It sold the Grade II-listed building to pub company Marston’s, which is planning to run the new restaurant under The Lost and Found brand.

Steamer Trading Cookshops have now announced that the Marlow store will continue to trade over Christmas “and beyond” while owners continue to look for an alternative premises.

Owner Ben Phillips said: “This is wonderful news. Marlow is the foodie capital of the area and absolutely where we want to be.

“We always hoped that our absence from Marlow would be brief, but being able to stay in place over Christmas not only moves that back, but gives us a better chance of finding new premises that we can move straight into.”

Before the cookshop took over, the landmark building was the famous Crown Hotel.