A PETITION to save the Caddy Shack café at Weymouth Rugby Club has continued to collect signatures – even though the business has closed.
The online Change.org petition has now achieved more than 3,700 signatures in a month, 250 in the past week.
As reported, the pop-up café was forced to close in mid-December after losing a planning appeal over Dorset Council’s decision against allowing the business to continue.
READ MORE: 'Upset after Caddy Shack is closed down'
A few neighbours had complained of noise and smells from the converted shipping container – although the café was popular with dog walkers and others who used it on a regular basis.
Owner Emma Ayles said the business had run, successfully, for two years until a council planning committee went against officers’ recommendations to allow it to stay and rejected planning permission in the light of objections from neighbouring homes about both noise, smells and parking problems.
The site use started in April 2022 without planning permission with Weymouth and Portland Rugby Club making a formal application in June 2022 for a change of use to allow the Caddy Shack on part of the car park.
The application papers at the time said the business employed one full-time and four part-time workers and helped the club with site security.
The application was formally refused by Dorset Council in February 2023 with an appeal being launched later by the rugby club.
Said Emma Ayles in the Change.Org online petition: “Our local food business is more than just an eatery – it’s an integral part of Dorset’s community fabric. We’ve celebrated birthdays here, shared meals with loved ones and created countless memories within the premises…. By signing this petition, you’re not just helping save a local business; you’re preserving a piece of Dorset’s heart and soul that can continue serving its community for years to come.”
The land the Caddy Shack is on belongs to Dorset Council, sub-let to the Rugby Club.
The planning appeal decision, which upholds the council planning refusal, said that because the business was close to homes and much of its trade was outside there was a high potential for harmful noise to occur – although the inspector rejected claims about cooking smells being a nuisance.
Said the Inspector: “The development has social and economic benefits as it provides employment opportunities for local people and facilities for the local community to use and enjoy. Additionally, the location of the development adjacent to the entrance to the rugby club car park does allow some natural surveillance and in turn, security benefit. However, these benefits are limited and outweighed by the harm that I have identified.”
Although both a planning committee and a Planning Inspector have rejected the application it is still possible for a fresh planning application to be submitted.
* This story has been edited to say a few neighbours had complained of noise and smells instead of the previously stated 'dozens'
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