Hove Coffee Shop Given Planning Approval Despite Neighbour Concerns

A new independent coffee shop can open in Hove after councillors approved plans to bring an empty property back into use.

Brighton and Hove City Council's Planning Committee voted eight to two in favour of proposals for 6 Westbourne Place at a meeting at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday (2 September).

The plans include replacing a previous extension, adding two dormer windows and converting an upstairs office into a flat.

Nine neighbours objected to the application, raising concerns including noise, smells from a kitchen extractor and the potential impact on the Sackville Gardens Conservation Area.

However, 26 people submitted letters of support, with supporters welcoming the prospect of an empty shop being brought back into use as an independent business.

Planning permission includes conditions covering opening hours, use of the rear garden and extraction and sound insulation.

The garden will be allowed to open from 10am, with up to five customers permitted outside.

The premises will close at 5pm on weekdays and 4pm at weekends and on bank holidays.

One neighbour, Margaret Parkes, spoke against the plans at Wednesday's meeting.

She said:

“Outdoor seating and any use of the garden for customer seating would create an unacceptable level of noise nuisance and loss of privacy to the neighbours' gardens.

“Any commercial use front and back is inappropriate in our conservation area.”

She also raised concerns about early opening and the possibility of the business operating seven days a week, with preparation starting at 5am.

Planning agent Henry Wagstaff, of Wilbury Planning, said the concerns about garden noise and extraction would be addressed through planning conditions.

He said:

“Representations of support outnumbered objections by around three to one.

“This application proposes to put a vacant building back into active use, with an independent and local business created and an additional home delivered.”

The applicant, Ellie Barber, said the coffee shop would be called Frank's, after her grandfather and her miniature schnauzer.

She said the business was inspired by her grandfather's ability to connect with people in his local community.

Miss Barber said:

“Building Frank's at 6 Westbourne Place alongside my mum, who lives on the road itself, and with my dad who lives just around the corner … this is our home and being good neighbours genuinely matters to us.”

She also told councillors that the proposed 5am start would involve preparing dough rather than baking from that time, while the extractor fan would be located internally.

The committee was told the planning use category meant a change of use was not required for the coffee shop.

Conservative councillor Carol Theobald was one of two members to vote against the plans, citing concerns about early-morning noise.

She said:

“I do feel sorry for the neighbour who doesn't want it there if it does wake her up on the morning – and the extractors can sometimes be noisy.

“I don't like them and there'll be a lot of people sitting in the garden. I think it's probably the wrong place.”

Brighton and Hove Independent councillor Bridget Fishleigh also voted against the application.

She referred to previous problems involving a restaurant extractor fan elsewhere in Hove and said she believed the location was unsuitable for a café with a garden.

Labour councillor Tobias Sheard said he understood residents' concerns but did not want the small shopping area to decline.

He said:

“These aren't high streets but a loss of these little shopping spaces, these little community corners can have, if left vacant, can cause so much more trouble down the line than what is being proposed.”

Green councillor Kerry Pickett said she understood concerns about noise but pointed to the conditions attached to the planning permission and the role of environmental health in addressing any future problems.

The coffee shop can now go ahead, subject to the planning conditions.