A married couple who set up a seaside takeaway shack in their front garden said they're under a "black cloud" after their "much needed" business has come under threat.
Dawn and Steve Quinn, both 50, only moved into their home on Egremont Promenade in January this year, but have already established a reputation for being at the bedrock of the local community. The pair first met when they were just four years old, but married other people, before finding their way back to each other and tying the knot three years ago.
The idea for their seaside refreshment shack - Sea-Quinn's - was born out of a desire to spend more quality time together after Steve's job required him to spend a lot of time working abroad. Steve told the ECHO: “Since we moved here we've fallen in love with the area and we’ve never met so many friendly people in our lives.
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"I used to work away from home a lot, but we just love each other’s company and being together. One day, we were sitting in the garden and someone walked past and said, ‘you should be selling teas and coffees here, you’d make a fortune’, so a little lightbulb went off and we decided to give it a go.”
Dawn and Steve opened for business just five weeks ago, with their quirky garden shack catering to customers on a stretch of land otherwise devoid of places to grab a drink or snack. Their venture has been particularly welcomed by local swimming group, the New Brighton Madcaps, with many of their 500 members visiting the couple for daily chats and relying on them as an extra pair of eyes along the waterfront.
Dianne Grimmer, a member of the group, said: "It's been a pleasure to meet the lovely Dawn and Steve . They are providing a much-needed service for us dippers and our families." Dianne's sentiments are shared by fellow customer, Sharon McGinn, who said: "Dawn and Steve are everything the local community is about. So friendly, welcoming, and helpful. Not only are they enjoying being here and making new friends, we really appreciate them being here."
Although the reaction to Sea-Quinn's has been mostly positive, a small number of local residents have started a petition to have the shack closed down. Their concerns caught the attention of Wirral Council, who are now threatening to take action if Dawn and Steve don't acquire the necessary planning permission to run the business from their garden.
But the couple believe they have followed all the correct procedures, and were left reeling when they were allegedly told no "save the stress" of applying for a change of business use as they weren't likely to get it.
Steve said: "I spoke to a guy from planning who said we might need a change of use because its a business enterprise at home. We’re hardly inconspicuous and we’ve done everything we need to do but we said if we needed to apply to change from residential to commercial, that’s fine.
"They got back to us two days later and told us not to apply for it and save time stress and money, because we won’t get it. I was like 'how dare you say that', we’ve put so much work into it and we’ve not been given the chance to show what we’re about.”
In response to the backlash they have faced, the couple started their own petition to save Sea-Quinn's which has since gained more than 600 signatures. Dawn said: " We’ve been apart for so long we wanted to try this and give something to the community.
"We love meeting people and people come to us for a chat. We feel like a big part of the community and all of a sudden we feel like we’re being shut down."
Dawn and Steve undertook training before opening, and got both a commercial waste license and a street trading license, as well as receiving a five-star food hygiene rating. However, the council has told the ECHO the couple also need planning permission to continue operating.
Environmental health officers visited Sea-Quinn's, as they are obligated to do when a food business registers with the council, however the structure of the council means that planning permission is a separate matter which is evaluated on a different set of merits.
A Council spokesperson said: “As this is a domestic dwelling, serving passing customers from the property is classed as a material change of use of the land and would require planning permission.
“The owners of the property and the business were informed of this and advised as to the options available to them to address the breach of planning control. To date, we have not received a retrospective planning application, nor have they stopped trading from the stall to our knowledge, so the council may have to consider enforcement action if no changes are made.”
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