Internet stars Café given green light
Internet stars The Bald Builders have been given permission to open a drivethrough café made from shipping containers.
The builders – also known as Brad Hanson, from Littlehampton, and Sam Hughes, from Bognor Regis – have attracted more than one-million followers on social media with their range of cheeky, funny and informative videos.
Last year, they launched their own food truck, aptly named The Bald Kitchen.
Now their application to set up a café in Crookthorn Lane, Climping, has been given the nod by Arun District Council’s planning committee.
Brad, 37, said: “We are so excited for what’s coming next and can’t wait to get The
Bald Kitchen back up and running and serving our local community.
“We’ve got our own blend of coffee, a vast range of cakes and cookies, along with a large selection of other drinks such as milkshakes and slushies, as well as our super tasty burgers, jacket potatoes and cold sandwich selection.”
The café will be constructed using two recycled shipping containers painted orange and black, with a timber canopy. It will face on to a seating area, while the drive-through will run across the back. A statement from the pair was read out during the planning meeting. It described the community work they carried out during the pandemic – including a burger and book day which saw 250 children receive free food and a book – and a Christmas grotto.
At the planning committee, concerns were raised over the appearance of the containers in such a rural landscape, the possibility of an increase in traffic to the site and what the impact would be on people living in a nearby Grade II listed cottage. Members had no planning reason to refuse the application and it was approved by five votes to two with four abstentions.
Steve Goodheart (Arun Independent Group, Hotham) thought the café would be a ‘great example of recycling’ while Alison Cooper (Con, Rustington East) wondered why the cafe could not be opened in a town centre, where it would ‘invigorate that town centre’.