A TWO star Michelin restaurant, whose staff and customers have angered residents of a small dale village in a parking row, is the “victim of its own success” according to the planning officer at Darlington Borough Council last week.
The Raby Hunt Inn, in Summerhouse, has applied to change an adjoining, single-storey cottage into additional guest bedrooms, a wine store and staff facilities.
It is the county’s only two star Michelin restaurant,
However the owner, chef James Close, faces fierce opposition from residents of the village who say parking for the inn is inadequate and they have been plagued by cars parking in front of their houses. In all 11 objection letters were received by Darlington Borough Council from residents who say their lives have been made a “misery” by the volume of cars and noise from the restaurant.
Village residents Justin and Tiffany Frear said: “With the increased volume of cars for the restaurant – around 12 cars on average for staff alone, let alone customers –we are unable to park anywhere near the house. We are prisoners in our house and daren’t go out at times to try and avoid the stress and anxiety it causes.”
In an attempt to alleviate the parking problem within the village the restaurant was invited to use the village hall car park at a cost of £50 per week to cover additional insurance charges and the cost of installation of CCTV cameras, but this was rejected.
The head of Darlington Borough Council’s planning department, David Coates, outlined the scheme and said it would not increase the restaurant’s covers and that highway bosses report “robust measures to control parking” had already been introduced in the village.
Craig Kipling, appearing on behalf of the Raby Hunt’s owners, said the additional bedrooms would only be offered to existing customers as part of an exclusive dining package and confirmed this would not increase the covers the restaurant offered.
Cllr Gerald Lee said he commended the restaurant for its success and it was something “we are delighted about”.
However, he had received many complaints and parking had been a problem for a long time.
He added: “What are you prepared to do to try to improve the parking for those residents?”
The decision has been deferred for a month to enable councillors to carry out a site visit to see the parking situation for themselves.
