AN “ICONIC eatery” on the north coast has applied to temporarily move to a nearby site when a major building project gets under way.
A planning application has been lodged for Mad Mary’s beach café at Bouley Bay to move around 100 metres to the west for up to five years while the Water’s Edge Hotel is demolished and replaced with a luxury home. Fears had been expressed that the existing location for the café, operated by Mary Tunney since 2005, might be vulnerable to a landslip during demolition and construction.
The new site would be next to the German Occupation bunker that will be the new home for the Bouley Bay Dive Centre, and close to the existing bus stop.
In its application, Page Architects states: “Many small beach cafés have been lost in recent times and it really would be unfortunate not to preserve this iconic eatery known by generations.”
The application has been supported by Trinity parish, with Constable Philip Le Sueur expressing “wholehearted support” and stating that Mad Mary’s was “critical to the life of the bay”.
Environmental Health has stated that it had no objection to the move, while the Infrastructure Department has requested more information about the disposal of surface water.
Although it was named the best hotel in the Channel Islands by the Egon Ronay guide in 1977, the Water’s Edge saw a steady drop in business and closed in 2013. After a protracted planning process the plans for a new home on the site were passed in October 2022.
