Work has begun transforming a former PizzaExpress into a new Wagamama at Beaconsfield Services.

The restaurant, located at the Beaconsfield M40 motorway services, is boarded up while refurbishment work takes place.

Its windows have been covered with plastic sheeting, with Wagamama branding displayed on the glass ahead of the restaurant’s opening.

Plans to open a Wagamama at the services had been first revealed in a licensing application.

TRG Concessions Limited has applied to Buckinghamshire Council for a minor variation to the existing premises licence for the restaurant at the motorway services on Windsor Road.

According to the application, the premises has been purchased and is being refurbished, with the layout set to be altered.

The application also states that the trading name would change from PizzaExpress to Wagamama.

It says the changes are sought “to alter the layout of the premises following purchase of the premises and refurbishment” and that the “trading name [is] to also change from ‘Pizza Express’ to ‘Wagamama’.”

The application is currently under consultation, with members of the public able to comment until July 27.

If approved, the decision is due to be made on August 3.

The application does not seek to change the existing licensing conditions relating to the sale of alcohol.

Those conditions include a Challenge 25 policy, staff training on age verification and the promotion of the four licensing objectives under the Licensing Act.

The existing PizzaExpress unit at Beaconsfield Services has recently been closed while refurbishment works are carried out.

Wagamama is a restaurant chain inspired by Japanese cuisine, serving dishes including ramen, katsu curry, donburi, teppanyaki, rice bowls and fresh juices in a casual dining setting.