Select a region
Plans to knock down the Seaside Café at Grève de Lecq and replace it with a single four-bedroom house and 100-cover café have been submitted to Planning.
If approved, the size of the private car park will be greatly reduced by new dune landscaping, which to the east will cover a tunnel leading to the two-storey, upside-down house’s main entrance, courtyard and garages.
A car park for the café will have 16 spaces, including two disabled.
A design statement by MS Planning accompanying the application says: “The proposal seeks to demolish the existing Seaside Café, two residential units and remove the hard landscaping and replace with a new beach café, one residential dwelling, bus shelter and a range of public, environmental and ecological improvements."
Pictured: An artist's impression of the development from the beach.
It continues: “The proposal will transform the site into a destination, that will bring new vibrancy to Grève de Lecq Bay and replace a tired and out-dated café and residential units with a purpose-built beachside café and a modern-day family dwelling coupled with a whole package of public and ecological benefits.
“The proposed cafe provides 50 internal covers and 50 external covers on the northern seaside terrace. The cafe has focused views out towards the bay utilising a completely glazed beachside frontage. The cafe’s northern terrace will be set within a dunescape reminiscent of its historical setting.
“The cafe will also benefit from private parking, bicycle parking, disabled access, extensive views of the bay all nestled within a carefully sculpted dunescape.
“The proposal seeks to introduce a bus shelter and formalise the existing bus stop. These connect to a proposed pavement along La Mont de Ste Marie which allows pedestrians access to the beachside promenade.
“The new proposed dunescape will connect with its surrounding landscape, reconnecting habitats and plant life while actively repairing the landscape character.”
Pictured: An impression of the site from the main road.
Of the single home, which will be set back from the German bunker at the beach-end of the site, the plans state: “The dwelling replaces the existing café in a further southernly position on the site with a greatly reduced floor area and visual massing opening up public views across the site.
“The massive reduction in building footprint and visual mass creates a much more sympathetic building designed to blend seamless into the local landscape.”
Other features of the design include a public walkway to the beach between the café and house, both structures to have ‘living’ rooves’ of plants, a new timber sleeper wall alongside the promenade and bicycle parking by the car park and bus shelter.
Pictured: A sunset view from the east, showing the new dune landscaping and the car tunnel leading to the single property. Photos: MS Planning.
The whole site sits within the Coastal National Park and includes the listed fortification.
The applicant is called De Montford Developments Ltd.
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.