Contentious revised plans for a new seafront cafe in an Isle of Wight village have been met with renewed opposition.
Bembridge Parish Council (BPC) joined Island Roads and a neighbouring resident in in objecting to hospitality business SE-View’s updated plans for a cafe at Kingsmere on Lane End Road in Bembridge.
BPC cited ‘insufficient parking provision’, an ‘adverse impact on the character and appearance of the locality’ and an ‘adverse impact on neighbouring properties’.
Mark Davis, who lives on Lane End Road, said:
“The scale of this proposed development will significantly impact the residents’ enjoyment of their properties.
“The proposed opening hours are quite different to the former cafe on the site which was open from Easter until October between 10am and 6pm.
“On Fridays and Saturdays in July and August it was open from 10am until 9pm. I encourage these to be the hours approved and not the request for 8am until 11pm throughout the year.”
Island Roads objected on three grounds:
“Insufficient information has been provided to determine if the displaced demand for car parking likely to be generated by the proposed development would have a significant impact on the surrounding highway network.”
The proposal would also ‘introduce additional hazards’ to highway users due to it not ‘safely’ accommodating service and delivery vehicles and insufficient visibility for a ‘safe and suitable access’.
A statement submitted by the applicant’s agent, Pol Gallagher, said:
“The revised scheme offers four parking spaces and bike storage for staff use.
“The revised application has introduced and included a pavement/walkway within the revised scheme as well as gardens to make it safer for pedestrians.
“The revised scheme has drastically decreased the footprint of the building which has in turn increased the area immediately to the south of the building allowing for access gates double the width of the original scheme, an additional two car parking spaces and a large loading area with a swept path analysis and vehicle access diagrams clearly showing how delivery vehicles can access the site via the main gate.
“The introduction of a walkway and vegetation would keep the pedestrians off the road and safely out of the RNLI’s way.
“The new scheme has almost 40 per cent fewer seats, reduced in volume by over 2,000 cubic metres, has an additional 124.5 square metres of public walkways and 254 square metres of public gardens.”
County Hall’s public consultation ends on Friday and a decision is due on April 15.
Comments