Bosses of a cafe next to Cheltenham’s Pittville Pump Room have been allowed to keep the business open for a further 17 months by the Borough Council. The Cheltenham Trust has been granted a temporary permission to change the use of the land next to the grade I-listed building to keep the Heritage Café Orangery open.
The café opened in the summer of 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic after a temporary relaxation of enforcement for temporary structures. This relaxation was brought in to help businesses and organisations to continue to operate while the Government imposed social distancing restrictions.
The Cheltenham Trust benefitted from this and as such the structure that now forms the Orangery, the toilet and storage facilities were installed next to the grade I-listed Pittville Pump Room to facilitate the use of the café. However, the trust had to submit a planning application to retain the structures and the use as a café after the relaxation came to an end.
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Their initial proposals to keep the structure for up to two years were rejected by Cheltenham Borough Council’s planning committee in October 2023. The trust submitted a further application to keep the café for a period of up to 20 months from March this year.
The latest scheme includes an amended clear roof and replacing the solid roof to the existing café. The trust has also included a clarification on their short-term and long-term plans, an options appraisal and a separate explanation why the building cannot accommodate a café.
A total of 34 people objected to the latest proposals while ten residents wrote in favour of the scheme There were also three petitions in support.
The objectors raised concerns over parking, loss of privacy, the cafe’s design and the impact on the listed building. Supporters of the cafe say it brings economic and social benefits to the town and provides employment opportunities.
Council officers considered the amended clear roof would not make a meaningful difference to the impact the proposal would have on the significance of the affected heritage assets. But they said the public benefits of the proposal now outweigh its harm and a condition was recommended to remove the structures from the site on or before November 6, 2024.
They also said the trust is currently on course and meeting the key dates set out in the programme delivery timeline for developing a permanent solution for the site. The planning committee considered the scheme on June 15 and voted to approve it. Nine councillors voted in favour while one voted against.
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