Homes bid for site of well-known A5 cafe

THE site of a cafe immortalised in a popular Welsh song could have six new homes built on it.

Anglesey council has received an application for six dwellings at the site of the former Little Chef in Gaerwen, which has been shut for almost 20 years.

The A5 roadside cafe was best known for inspiring the 1960s pop song “Caffi Gaerwen” by Anglesey duo Tony ac Aloma.

Tony Jones, one half of the duo, was a frequent visitor to the cafe, with the song noting his fondness for sausage, egg and chips, served by the staff at the time: Pat, Janet, Elsi and Glen.

However, the cafe shut at the turn of the century, and the site has since become an overgrown wasteland (pictured below).

The application, by Brian Pigott, includes three two-bedroom terraced and three detached homes consisting of three bedrooms, with one of the six homes to be marketed as affordable.

The development site, if approved, will also include enough spaces for 12 cars with additional garage parking.

Similar plans were submitted last year but were swiftly withdrawn by the applicant after issues arose.

Prepared by Owen Devenport, the application says: “This revised proposal still makes use of previously developed land for six residential dwellings, forming a development well suited within the locality in terms of its character and appearance.”

However, the application has already attracted some letters of opposition, which say the additional traffic would impact on road safety at Swn-yr-Engan and that the development would impact on the privacy and value of nearby homes.