Contentious seafront café plans revised following objections

Contentious plans to build a new seafront café on the site of a ‘half-built eyesore’ in a village have been revised following objections.

Hospitality business SE-View submitted updated plans for a café at Kingsmere on Lane End Road in Bembridge.

They cover issues including parking, pedestrian safety, site access, an adjacent lifeboat station, capacity and size and hours of operation.

Prior to the revisions, SE-View’s application received nearly 60 supporting comments but was also met with resistance from Bembridge Parish Council and Island Roads.

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.”

In a Highways Representation submitted after SE-View’s revisions, Island Roads objected on three grounds.

The service provider said: “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’.