Boulder row is hitting my business says cafe owner
A CAFE owner claims he’s losing trade because a charity is refusing to move a giant boulder blocking his car park – unless £10,000 is stumped up.
Colin Blease opened High Lane Tea Rooms in High Lane last December, but has been locked in a land dispute with the Canal and River Trust ever since.
The huge rock was put in place when the building was empty to prevent caravans from parking on a 10-yard strip of land owned by the charity. It leads to the cafe’s small car park and is the only access point.
Colin however says the boulder means visitors must park hundreds of yards away in High Lane village as a result.
He claimed the charity issued the five-figure demand to move the giant rock to his landlord, who owns the tea room building. It used to be a Thai restaurant that closed around eight years ago.
The charity claimed the landowner ‘failed to agree’ to a formal agreement over access, but said it hoped to reach a suitable deal to resolve the issue.
Father-of-three Colin, 38, said: “I feel like I’m being held to ransom. It’s absolutely ridiculous. I’m trying to run a business and we’re talking about a tiny piece of land.
“There’s no other access to our car park without using that entrance. I can understand why the boulder was in place when my building wasn’t in use, but now it’s putting people off coming here.
“Everyone who comes in comments on it. A lot of them say they have friends who have gone elsewhere because they couldn’t get parked. There’s also an issue with disabled and emergency access because wheelchairs and vehicles can’t get up that path. The Canal and River Trust is supposed to be a charity, but their demands are totally unreasonable. They are literally obstructing my business.
“If it was a couple of hundred quid to remove the boulder I could understand, but I think they’ve just plucked £10,000 out of thin air.
“We should be encouraging independent businesses but for a massive organisation like that to put obstacles in our way seems uncalled for.”
A Canal and River Trust spokeswoman said: “We would be happy to meet to negotiate a right of access across the trust’s land.
“However, as a charity we need to ensure that we get the best value for the trust.
“We hope that we can reach an agreement with the landowner in the near future.”