Traduced by the teashop Taliban!
It’s cake slices at dawn. In one idyllic village, a bizarre war’s been brewing between rival cafes that’s split a community – and left a VERY nasty taste for this ‘persecuted’ owner
WITH its big skies, quaint villages and happy families in search of jolly boating weather, it is hard to imagine a more tranquil – or quintessentially British – place than the Norfolk Broads.
Salhouse is one of the many peaceful communities that populate this watery landscape. Home to just 1,500 people, its online village noticeboard advertises nothing more exciting than ‘afternoon tea and a mardle’ (Norfolk-speak for a gossip) in the village hall.
Yet today Salhouse is at the heart of a dispute that has closed down a local shop and cafe, cost the village its post office and turned neighbour against neighbour in a decidedly uncivil war.
But the row is not just country life at its muddiest – it also raises serious questions about the littleknown Community Protection Notice (CPN), a new type of antisocial behaviour order.
Critics describe it as hyper-regulation gone mad and too arbitrary and nebulous to be any form of justice, in this case leaving one local business owner under threat of prosecution if she dared even peep through a rival’s shop window. Even the Taliban would struggle to think up an edict so bizarre.
And it is all, rather ridiculously, over who sells the best coffee, tea and cake.
A feud between rival cafe owners has led to two warring factions. One backs 45- year- ol d s i ngle mother-of-three and yoga teacher Kerry Radley. She was the owner of Radley’s, a determinedly cool cafe with artisan coffee, Norfolk produce such as jams and locally smoked bacon, and funky artwork on the walls.
The other backs parish councillor Martin Nudd and his wife Judith, whose Prima Rosa tea rooms are the acme of traditional chintz. The couple even cut their sandwiches into heart shapes.
Sadly, Salhouse has not proved big enough for the both of them and they have each accused the other of intimidating and abusive behaviour. Stories of advertising flyers being stolen and signs being sabotaged are rife.
There has been a string of tit-fortat complaints made to Broadland District Council – about Radley’s for unfounded hygiene issues over old railway sleepers being used as furniture, and Prima Rosa for alleged planning irregularities over chairs on the pavement.
Ms Radley says one of her signs was defaced with dog poo, that she has been the subject of fake complaints about out-of-date preserves, fresh bread being left uncovered and ‘wine o’clock’ mums having a legal impromptu drink outside.
She adds that a missing teaspoon was returned by Mr Nudd in a provocative manner. Even Ms Radley’s bulldog, Rodney, has been drawn into the row. She says he was accused of sniffing fresh produce: a box of vegetables.
The Nudds deny running any such hate campaign. They claim they are the true victims, with Ms Radley routinely harassing them and their clientele, who they say have braved her alleged antagonism out of sheer loyalty to Judith Nudd’s homemade cakes.
They say their business rival has taken photographs without permission, parked her car in a lay-by opposite their business and stared in, and telephoned their suppliers to cancel orders.
Unfortunately for Ms Radley, the council favoured the Nudds’ version of events and in August last year served her with a CPN that banned her, among other things, from even peeping into Prima Rosa. That’s a tricky condition to meet
I guessed they would tread on my toes. I was utterly gutted I went home and burst into tears. What am I, some sort of Asbo yoga teacher? I deny it all, but it’s been like head-butting a wall It has left a taste as sour as the local vinegar cake
since the businesses are just 20 yards apart and Ms Radley needs to look towards the other cafe so she can manoeuvre safely on the road that runs beside them both.
It’s also an excellent example of why CPNs, introduced in 2014 to clamp down on bad behaviour, are becoming increasingly controversial. Issued by councils, any breach can result in prosecution, with a business facing a fine of up to £20,000 or £2,500 for an individual.
But last week, in an unexpected reversal, Broadland council did not contest Ms Radley’s appeal against her CPN and agreed to pay all her costs as well as its own. It’s a victory of sorts – but though it lifts the threat hanging over her, she has closed her business and is considering moving out of Salhouse, her home for 20 years.
Meanwhile, the village has lost more than a community facility and a potential draw for tourists – the cream bun battle has cost it any sense of harmony and ease.
This spite-filled story began in August 2014 when Ms Radley spent £ 75,000 opening her cafe. She stocked everything from posh produce to cheap bags of pasta and basics such as milk and eggs.
In an attempt to serve her community, Ms Radley also opened a post office, which took a pitiful £160 a month. She worked a 70-hour week without drawing a salary to get her business off the ground and in 2016 turned over almost £100,000. She says: ‘I’m a single mother of three, a yoga teacher, I didn’t want a Mrs Miggins tea shoppe, I wanted something up to date with ethically sourced coffee and where cool young local bakers supplied the cakes.
‘I put in a big communal table and I was at my happiest when it was crammed with people from different walks of life all chatting. That’s my vision of the countryside. Rustic and rural should not mean being stuck in the past.’
But in May 2015 the Nudds opened up next- door- but- one with their new tea room and craft shop. Ms Radley was distraught, she knew there was not enough custom for both businesses to survive.
‘When Martin Nudd opened up I went to see him and told him every tea he sold would be money out of my till. He said they were going to be a different kind of shop, stocking local crafts.
‘But I guessed they’d start treading on my toes, selling stamps and getting an alcohol licence. I was gutted, absolutely gutted.’
At this stage, the dispute could have remained a bit of a higgle (Norfolk-speak for an argument) where both sides worked themselves into a puckaterry (bit of a temper) before eventually finding some kind of accord. Instead it escalated into terrible hostility culminating in the CPN served on Ms Radley as she waited on customers last August.
‘I went home and burst into tears. What am I, some sort of Asbo yoga t eacher? I i magine everyone thought I would just crawl away after that but I lodged an appeal and now the council has given up. I am elated by that outcome, but the price of a big game in a small village has been very high.
‘I deny all of this but it’s been like head-butting a brick wall and the issuing of the CPN made me look guilty.’
Such was her distress that she felt obliged to shut up shop. ‘I have closed Radley’s and am now thinking of moving out of Salhouse too. I feel as if all the years I’ve lived here I must have inhabited some sort of little bubble,’ she says.
‘I stepped out of it with a business venture which I believed would be of benefit to the community.
‘What can I say other than I wish I hadn’t?’
For their part, the owners of Prima Rosa remain defiant. ‘She started it,’ says Mr Nudd, 57. ‘We didn’t want to see her close down. I know she tried to blame us but if you look after your customers they come back time and time again.
‘That is what Judith does. She creates a lovely atmosphere in the shop which people like. If you are a friendly family- run business, people come back.’
The council also robustly defends its actions, denying it has been heavy-handed.
A spokesman said: ‘Since the CPN was issued, there have been no further allegations or complaints made against Kerry Radley.
‘One of the statutory elements of the power to issue a CPN is that the conduct complained of is of a per- sistent or continuing nature and Broadland District Council acknowledges that since August 2017 this is no longer the case.
‘The council maintains its position with respect to the conduct preceding the issuing of the CPN. However, it is not prepared to use public funds to oppose an appeal.’
Whether Prima Rosa emerges commercially victorious from this storm in a teashop remains to be seen. What will endure for sure is the toxic legacy of the feud in the village and online. The Facebook page for the village has been full of bile about Ms Radley. She has even been trolled from a fake account using the name and photograph of a paratrooper murdered by the IRA. His details were taken from an obituary and it was made to appear as though he was complaining about buying out-of date crisps from Radley’s.
Salhouse can trace its roots to before the Domesday Book but this surely must rank as one the strangest episodes in its history.
It has all left a taste as sour as the key i ngredient t hat goes i nto making the local speciality – a traditional Norfolk Vinegar Cake.