The wife of the owner of Jimmy’s Farm, who is I believe called Michaela, went into premature labour this morning. The reason that I know this ‘hot off the press’ snippet of celebrity gossip was that Jimmy himself sent his apologies to today’s meeting of the Babergh Development Committee.
Jimmy’s company was seeking permission to extend the hours of its new restaurant at the Farm from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
The enterprise has of course been a very high profile success since its rather shaky inception some years ago and it is only natural that there is a desire to continue expansion. Permission was granted, contrary to the recommendation of the planning officer, since eight out of the fourteen Members present, and the local Ward Members, felt that benefits to the local economy were sufficient to override other planning considerations
I was a substitute on the committee and I am afraid that I, along with six others, took a contrary view.
I said that I found it hard to escape the feeling that if a farmer outside Acton wanted to open a restaurant in the evening, in the middle of the countryside, he was unlikely to be permitted to do so. The venue would be ruled out as ‘not sustainable’. I have to say I am happy about this because, unlike Jimmy’s neighbours, we will not have traffic constantly passing by our doors through the early evening, but nonetheless to allow one and not the other appears unfair.
It also seemed to me that the extent of restrictions and limitations necessary to make the extension of hours acceptable suggested that the fundamental idea was flawed.
A further concern was the proximity of a Grade 2 listed building, Pannington Hall. This, which is only 100 meters from the restaurant, is currently unoccupied and in a state of some dilapidation. Traffic noise and other likely night-time disturbance makes it almost certain in my view that the building will be blighted indefinitely, unless of course Jimmy ploughs some of the profits from his commercial ventures back into its restoration!
Planning decisions are seldom straightforward, the rules often conflict and different people have different priorities. This means that it is very possible to take opposing views when coming to decisions. However, in this case I personally found it hard to escape the view that the aura of celebrity had played a part in the outcome.
Despite these misgivings, however, I look forward to visiting the restaurant in due course.
