A CELEBRITY chef this week released further details of his plans to transform the Royal George ballroom.

Paul Heathcote said his team had already visited the former hotel, which currently resembles a building site, to agree their designs.

"They've been on the site in hard hats and wellies," he said.

Mr Heathcote and developer Philip Hughes are finalising legal agreements so that the restaurant can open next year.

Yesterday (Tuesday) the owner of 10 restaurants said he would protect the character of the historic Royal George. But he plans to transform the ballroom and part of the auction room into an elegant eating place.

He also wants to have a fire on an outside patio dining area.

"There are a lot of things that cannot be altered and we have got to come up with a design that is in keeping," he said.

"It is going to be something quite different to what we have done at the other restaurants."

Heathcote's is the only tenant in the Royal George development that will have an outside dining area after Starbucks failed to get permission to allow customers to drink coffee in the street. The new restaurant is also likely to have a smaller open kitchen to add 'a little theatre' to the eating experience.

Designers also hope to commission wallpaper with images of old Italy to hang from panels in the ballroom.

Mr Heathcote said he did not expect to open his restaurant until March.

But Knutsford customers can expect to see more of him when he does.

"When you've got 10 restaurants you can't eat in them every day, but that is something I enjoy doing," he said.

Progress on the Royal George has speeded up in the past few weeks after a slow start to the year.

When the £10million development of Regent Street is completed there will be a new row of shops, offices, apartments and two restaurants linking King Street to Princess Street.