Beloved tearoom seems set to become home after no buyer interest

Friday 28 July 2023

Plans have been submitted to convert Rozel Bay Tearoom into a three-bedroom family home, after the hospitality venue failed to attract any buyers despite eight months on the market.

The planning application includes a letter from estate agent Slomans explaining that they have "marketed the property for sale as a hospitality venue" but have "had no interest" due to "lack of demand and rising costs of labour, energy, and ingredients".

The estate agent, which was appointed last November, also noted that "there is also a large capital investment required in the building for essential repairs".

However, while there was no interest in the site as a café or restaurant, Slomans said there had been "considerable interest from families who would convert the building back into a home", adding that "these families require change of use to be granted prior to purchase, in order to secure financing for the acquisition".

Pictured: The tearoom has been a central part of Rozel Bay for over a decade.

Submitting the planning application on behalf of the building's owner, Jason Dodd of Jason Dodd Architectural and Planning Consultants explained that plans will create a "family dwelling in a highly sought-after location where none currently exist".

He said there would be "no external changes" to the building and described any other alterations as "minimal".

"We are simply proposing to return this building to its originally intended use as a family dwelling," Mr Dodd said.

The planning consultant added that "Rozel Bay is not considered a tourist destination area" and explained that "the property has been advertised for sale through Slomans Estate Agents over the last six months with no one interested in purchasing the property as it is".

Pictured: Maria Smith ran Rozel Bay Tearoom from 2011 until she was forced to close in November last year.

Mr Dodd said that the proposed three-bedroom family home "makes the most efficient use of land, and optimises the density of development".

"The current building is a poor mixture of bedrooms and a commercial tearoom with an alcohol license, whereas the proposal is to reinstate this building into a desirable family dwelling and will be sympathetic to its neighbours in terms of visitor movement and creates a place that will be a joy to live," he said.

The former owner of the business at Rozel Bay Tearoom told Express of her shock when she found our her landlord was selling the building at the end of last year.

"The tearoom has been my whole life for many years, so it's going to be extremely hard to see it go," Maria Smith, ahead of her final weekend of trading in November.

Despite challenges with staffing and rising costs, she said that she loved her job and that her dream would be for "someone to buy [the tearoom] and lease it back to me".

Thanking all those who had supported her, she said: "In 11 years, I feel like I haven't had to do a single day of work because I've loved my job so much. Appreciative customers and compliments from people are more rewarding that money – although I know it doesn't pay the bills!"

The full planning application to convert Rozel Bay Tearoom – which has been graded 'Major' – can be viewed online.