A 'suffering' café owner has been ordered to remove decking after a saga she has labelled the 'most stressful time'. The Wrinkly Lettuce Café & Bistro on Main Road, Gedling, was refused retrospective planning permission for a garden decking area by Gedling Borough Council in December 2021.
And now an appeal against the decision has been dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate, meaning the decking will soon have to be torn up. The Government inspector echoed the local council's verdict that the impact on neighbours would be too much to approve the plans, commenting that customers of the café are able to look directly into the rear gardens of neighbours for an extended time, stating this increase in overlooking and loss of privacy was an "unacceptable impact on the living conditions of the occupiers of that property".
The bistro's owner had said the decision was unfair, with her not knowing the implications of initially applying to also change the use of the property to a mixed-use pub, as she claims was recommended by a council officer. Jan Newton, owner of Wrinkly Lettuce, said: "I have seen that it [the appeal] has been dismissed. The Government told us to get bums on seats in April 2021 so we got this done in Easter [last year].
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"My opinion is that they haven't compromised with me. This is only used for three or four months a year - nobody is out here at night making noise, it's used for breakfasts in summer.
"It has not been an easy time to run a business, but this has added to it. It's been the most stressful time.
"I don't think they've taken my tenant upstairs into account either, they use it and I think if this was a residential property it would be allowed. I just think it is unfair.
"It has not been an easy time to run a business, but this has added to it. It's been the most stressful time.
"It is just one neighbour that has opposed it who says the decking overlooks his garden. I feel like Gedling Borough Council set me up to fail by asking me to change the planning name, we're not a pub at all."
The Planning Inspectorate acknowledged there had been a lack of clarity over the implications of the altered description for the plans. Local resident in wider area thought the refusal was unfortunate for the business.
Jean Crapper, 80, a retiree from Gedling, said: "It's been a long time since I have been in there. There doesn't seem to be a lot of neighbours near it.
"I cannot see that it would have caused much trouble to keep it, I doubt they're very noisy it seems to close early anyway. It's not exactly as if it's a pub, the owner probably rightly thinks it is harsh."
Cornelius Power, 73, from Gedling, said: "I think them having to remove it is very harsh. It sounds a little bit unfair.
"I think there has to be a balance. I feel quite sorry for the person running."
A neighbour living next to Wrinkly Lettuce added: "If it was loud I would have let them know, I did have to speak to them before about noise. But if it had been quiet then l would say live and let live."
Councillor Jenny Hollingsworth, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth and Economy said: “Part of the council’s planning process involves looking at the impact a development will have in the surrounding area, such as causing noise disruption or overlooking nearby properties.
"The Planning Inspector agreed with the council’s decision to refuse planning permission for the Wrinkly Lettuce, Gedling, stating that the unauthorised decking would result in customers overlooking adjacent residential properties for extended periods of time.”
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