Restaurant to be converted back into a house

LOCATION, location, location has been cited by Joan Bray in her successful bid to get the Overstone restaurant at Coldham converted back into a house.

Her application to Fenland planners, approved this week, reveals the difficulties of running the restaurant in the Fenland village.

The former restaurant and pub - it was named after Baron Overstone, a benefactor to the parish church- closed last September.

"We have always had great difficult in persuading people to dine out during the week, despite considerable effort applied to the problem," said Mrs Bray.

"This has included being open for business seven nights a week, and lunchtimes and advertising in local publications. All to no avail."

In a letter supporting her closure bid, she told Fenland Council that the village is small, does not have a tourist attraction, and "nor is it in a picturesque setting to attract visitors.

"This is not a tourist spot, and people are not seen wandering Coldham! This means the drop-in customer is not a possibility. Public transport is the local bus service which restaurant customers do not seem keen to use, and it is not available in the evenings."

She added that other local enterprises have suffered "and are possibly some of the reasons the shop, the church and school have closed, due to lack of use."

Mrs Bray said since the restaurant closed she has not been inundated with callers, nor was she aware of a public outcry.

"Eating is essential, eating in a restaurant is a luxury and we feel a restaurant in a village the size of Coldham is neither a necessity or essential.

"We have preserved and even struggled over the years and from it being a run down neglected business have achieved a certain success, but for all the reasons outlined it is not enough.

"Location, location, location certainly applies here and that cannot be changed.