STRONG objections continued to be lodged this week to plans to modernise Blenheim Gardens Cafe, in Minehead, which will be decided by Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) on Thursday.

SWT’s last-ever planning committee meeting before the authority is abolished on Friday will see a decision taken on an application by Cafe 21 owner William Wynn to refurbish and alter the park’s existing derelict cafe building.

Bringing the cafe back into use after five years was a condition of Mr Wynn leasing the derelict building from the council.

SWT planning officer Russell Williams has recommended the committee to approve Mr Wynn’s planning application because of the benefit it would bring to the community and local economy.

But Minehead town councillors who discussed late changes to the application last week decided they were still strongly opposed to it.

Town councillors were concerned it appeared the cafe would be separated from the six-acre Edwardian gardens and people with limited mobility would have to leave and walk through a car park to reach an access ramp at the back of the building.

They were also worried about the cafe opening hours being ‘at odds with those of the gardens’, its single toilet not being accessible, a proposed decking area not being in keeping with the conservation area, and the treatment of trees.

The councillors said there were discrepancies between the submitted plans and the project’s design and access statement, and they believed drawings showing space available for a disabled access area were misleading.

Campaigner Steve Taylor, who helped to collect a 200-plus name petition objecting to the plans, said the latest opposition related to cafe windows not being replaced ‘like for like’.

Mr Taylor said the windows were previously four panes one above each other but now there was only one, which could affect the building’s structural integrity.

Another objector, Steve Martyn, said the application was attempting to separate the cafe from the gardens as a standalone commercial entity, contrary to an original covenant stating the park’s beneficial owners were the residents of Minehead.

Minehead Conservation Society also expressed concern at the apparent treatment of the cafe as a separate entity to the gardens.

It said: “These gardens were set up as a pleasure garden for the people of Minehead to enjoy peace and relaxation.

“A cafe is subservient to the gardens, and not the other way around.”

The society said it recognised ‘some changes for the better’ had been made, but believed more was needed to satisfy the residents of Minehead that their best interests were being served.

More than 40 public objections to the plans were lodged with SWT by this week, but planning officer Mr Williams said many of the comments had been addressed through changes to the plans or could be dealt with by imposing conditions on any approval.

He said the proposed refurbishment and alterations included raising the height of the building’s flat roof, additional replacement windows and doors, construction of a ramp, and a raised decking area at the front.

Mr Wynn’s planning agent, Phil Abraham, of LED Architects, said the cafe had been allowed to deteriorate and was in poor condition and had attracted vandalism which had seen it fenced off from the gardens.

Mr Abraham said the refurbishment was designed to keep the architectural character of the original building while enhancing the quality of external materials and the internal environment.

He said wheelchair access was not currently possible, so a new side ramp and raised front terrace, was being developed to ensure the building was fully accessible.

Use of the café would improve passive supervision of the park, and a CCTV system would be installed.