A CAFÉ owner has spoken of her relief at the prospect of being able to keep open the business she has run at a north-coast beauty spot since 2005.
Mary Tunney, owner of Mad Mary’s at Bouley Bay, had feared that proposals to redevelop the adjacent Water’s Edge Hotel site would lead to her having to close the business when her current lease expires in September 2023.
But now the JEP understands that Mrs Tunney, the owner of the local fief and the prospective owner of the hotel have come to an arrangement to offer Mrs Tunney a lease that would run until 2029. Work will also take place to stabilise the rock face above her café, which has subsided in the past.
The new lease will be dependent of the outcome at the Planning Committee meeting which will be held on Thursday.
Mrs Tunney said that she was very pleased at the prospect of being able to continue trading at the site, which has housed a café since the 1930s, and thanked the many Islanders who had offered support.
She said: ‘I’ve had 18 months of hell because I haven’t known whether I would be able to carry on beyond 2023.
‘Now I have some certainty, which is what I’ve been lacking throughout this period.’
Michael Stein of MS Planning, the company behind the Water’s Edge application, said this was part of a wish by his client to safeguard the entire Bouley Bay community.
This included the café, dive centre, the regular hill climb events and public access to the coast path, he added.
The planning application is recommended for approval by planning officers, having been deemed compliant with the Bridging Island Plan, against which all planning decisions are judged.
