Buying Fermain cafe ‘ensures area stays calm and peaceful’

The charity’s interest in the site was revealed at this week’s AGM.

The cafe is next door to the trust-owned Fermain Tower, with the buildings sharing a water supply and cesspit.

The cafe will soon have a new tenant, with the owner of local restaurants Coco and Lola, Pearl Oyster winning the lease from the States.

Trust president Mike Brown said that owning the cafe, as well as the tower, would make ‘an awful lot of sense’.

Trust vice-president Sara Lampitt added that a ‘very robust’ plan for what the trust wanted to see at Fermain – including better parking for people with limited mobility – had been put forward to the States.

‘It would give us as freeholders some control over what the tenant has done or would do, which would enable us to preserve the peace and calm of Fermain Tower,' Mr Brown said.

‘I don’t want a large restaurant building on the site with lots of traffic and lots of noise. I want the character of the bay to be preserved.’

The trust did discuss at the meeting how the purchase could be financed, but those details are being kept under wraps for now.

There was a lot of public concern when the tender document for the site was first published, as it suggested the site had ‘development potential’ and there were suggestions that a development of a two or potentially three-storey structure could be created.

So far the new tenants have not responded to requests for comments on their plans.

In a statement from the States, it was said that Pearl Oyster had planned new offerings for customers, such as online order for beach users, creating a new sun lounger area near the cafe and increased opening times in the summer months, along with the potential to host private events.

The successful bid also included substantial investment plans to improve the offering for the community. A States Property Unit spokesman said it could not discuss the National Trust's comments.

‘The States periodically receives approaches from parties interested in buying publicly-owned land, as well as offers to sell land to the States,’ he said.

‘We wouldn’t discuss, through the media, any requests that are made.’