One of Sandsend’s most popular cafes is going to be demolished and rebuilt with more floorspace and updated facilities to make the long-standing business more efficient.
Planning permission has been granted for Sandside Cafe, which overlooks the beach from East Row, to be knocked down and replaced by a new build cafe which will have an extra 100 square metres of floorspace.
The new ground floor will have a kitchen area and serving space, smaller customer welfare facilities, a store accessed from the kitchen and a bin store accessed from the footpath on Sandsend Road, as is the current arrangement.
Main seating areas will be on the northern and eastern sides of the building where customers can enjoy coastal views.
The inclusion of a first floor will be within the roof space of the new building and will have a staff room, office and toilet.
In statements provided to North Yorkshire Council planners, applicants and cafe owners, Paul and Alison Hodgson, say the development will “provide an improved building that allows the business to operate more efficiently whilst also improving facilities for staff and customers and keeping up with growing customer numbers.”
Renovating the existing building was ruled out because over time it has been added to in sections, and because two years ago, a car crashed into the cafe compromising its structure.
Alison added: “We have an opportunity to make it flow better and improve it, but the cafe itself won’t change much at all.”
She told The Anchor the work will be done out of season but whether it is this year, or next, depends upon being able to co-ordinate all the project management elements.
The initial plans for the new build Sandsend Cafe resulted in concerns about the size, scale and height of it, but the owners and designers made “significant amendments” to reduce the overall mass and still meet the business requirements.
