Plan for 150-seat harbour restaurant given the go-ahead
A new 150-seat restaurant made of recycled shipping containers is set to open in Whitstable Harbour by the summer.
Planning permission has been granted for the two-storey development on the site of a former industrial building on the South Quay.
Called The Old Engine Shed, it will also have an outside seating area and host an “educational space” to inform visitors about local heritage.
It will be run by the Whitstable Oyster Company, which was given a seven-year lease for the site following a tendering process in 2016.
Its proposal – which was originally for a champagne and oyster bar – was selected from a choice of four by Whitstable Harbour Board.
It is hoped work will be able to start within eight to 12 weeks.
A spokesman for the firm, which already runs restaurants in the town, said: “The Whitstable Oyster Company is delighted planning permission has been granted so that we can develop this area of the harbour into a successful enterprise, that will showcase local produce but also create more jobs.”
Jo Vogelaar, co-director of Whitstable Harbour Market, says she hopes the new restaurant, which will showcase the town’s worldfamous oysters, will bring more custom to the area.
But she added: “However, a restaurant of this size will affect every business in the harbour and Whitstable.
“If it brings in so many more people to warrant its existence, where are those people going to park?
“We want to make this a community harbour, and not just outprice locals.”
Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies says there are plans to provide more parking at the harbour.