£1million café and restaurant approved next to popular Northumberland beach

Windsor Developments has received planning approval from Northumberland County Council for its proposed £1million development at Beadnell Bay.

Planning officers granted approval using delegated powers after the developer made amendments ‘to soften the appearance’ of the scheme.

A surfer style bar and takeaway for light meals is planned with an open courtyard and a seated firepit at ground floor level.

Upstairs it would offer a more formal dining experience with enviable views to Dunstanburgh Castle complemented by a creative menu of locally caught, grilled fish and other fresh produce.

The proposal also includes 65 parking spaces to the south of the café, public space in the form of seating and a play area and landscaping.

Stephen Dixon, managing director, said earlier this year: "My desire is to ensure that any development is in keeping with the local surroundings and what the local community would enjoy. I truly believe we can create one of the best restaurants on the North East coast that will mirror the beauty of the village.”

Amendments to the plan have included changing the cladding material to timber to soften the appearance of the building and be reflective of the beachside shack or hut, the balustrade to the first floor terraces is now post and yacht wire rather than glass to reduce visual impact and there is more soft landscaping to the front of the building to enhance its year round setting.

There were 40 objections to the original application, including Beadnell Parish Council, although councillors agreed the amendments made it more acceptable.

Northumberland Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty questioned the scale of the enterprise but accepted the proposals were an improvement on a previous application granted approval in 2018.

Haley Marron, principal planning officer, reported: ‘The revisions have made for an acceptable scheme more appropriate in terms of scale, height and massing. The large viewing tower has been omitted which significantly improves the development by omitting an imposing feature in the streetscene.

‘The applicant has also sought to address some of the design concerns by changing some of the metal materials and the colour pallette of the building.’

The scheme could create 10 to 15 full-time jobs and around 30 part-time jobs.

The dramatic events of the pandemic are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on your support through buying our newspaper. If you can, please pick up a copy of the newspaper when you are at the shops. Thank you.