A FOOD kiosk at La Pulente is shutting for the final time on Sunday, ending a long-running saga which involved planning disputes, accusations of personal vendettas and a Royal Court battle that left the Parish of St Brelade with a hefty legal bill.
Having traded on the road that leads down to the slipway for more than seven years, the Hideout will close at the end of this weekend.
Writing on Facebook, owner Karl Sutton said: “It is with great sadness that we announce that The Hideout will be closing its shutters at La Pulente.
“We want to thank all our customers, suppliers and supporters in the parish and beyond for their enduring support and loyalty over the years.”
He added: “We have done everything we can to keep the business alive. We have considered another David and Goliath battle with our elected officials but do not want to do so at a cost to our parishioners. With the end of the line in relative sight and no solutions forthcoming from the parish, we have no option but to cease trading as of 29 October.”
The “battle” Mr Sutton refers to relates to, in essence, the fact that the former toilet block at the top of the access road was sold by the States in 2014.
It has since been redeveloped as a café and restaurant. The Hideout, which started trading close to the toilet block in 2016, was told to move by the Parish of St Brelade, which owns the slip road, in 2020 because it would be in the way of the proposed redevelopment.
However, Mr Sutton successfully campaigned to remain open until the café was fully up and running, which took far longer than first estimated, and a compromise was reached whereby the Hideout kiosk moved further down the access road, where it has remained.
The matter even reached the Royal Court, with Mr Sutton seeking a judicial review of a decision by St Brelade Constable Mike Jackson not to extend the kiosk’s permit.
The two sides reached a last-minute out-of-court settlement, which extended the Hideout’s permission, with St Brelade agreeing to pay Mr Sutton’s legal bill.
With the former toilet block – now Nude Dunes – up and running, Mr Sutton wrote: “The Hideout took pleasure in opening all hours, all year round, public holidays, and even over Covid lockdowns for those who want quick, easy, affordable, dog-friendly, quick surf-check coffee and snack.
“Nude clearly has a fantastic offering, but we always felt there was a market for both audiences to be served on our slipway. It is a sad day when a well-established and much-loved business is forced to close, but all that is left for us to do is move on.”
Mr Jackson said he had received a letter from Mr Sutton saying the Hideout was closing at the end of the month. He said its planning permission, which had already been extended, ran out on 24 June and there were a number of objections to that application.
“It was always agreed that it would be a temporary service pending the completion of the nearby café, and that is now built and successfully trading.
“From a Parish of St Brelade point of view, in issuing a permit we have to consider such factors as the Coastal National Park and rules around hygiene, and The Hideout has no fresh water supply or drains.
“It’s also important to say that the decision not to renew the parish permit was not just mine but one made collectively with other officials.”
