St Albans Waffle House loses marquee seating in planning row

The marquee at the Waffle House at Kingsbury Watermill was erected in 2013

A restaurant's marquee at its Grade II listed watermill building has been removed after a nine-year planning row.

The Waffle House in St Albans, Hertfordshire, put the structure up to house most of its indoor seating in 2013, without planning permission.

It was told to remove it in 2018 following a "complaint from a community group" and lost a subsequent appeal and independent inquiry.

The local council said it was talking to the restaurant about a solution.

The Waffle House must now "keep the front of the building entirely exposed"

The popular restaurant, next to the River Ver, opened in 1982 at Kingsbury Watermill.

The building is known to have stood on land belonging to St Albans Abbey at the time of the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th Century.

The Waffle House's operations manager, Mark Watson, said there had been some sort of outdoor covering for 30 years and the latest marquee had increased its covered seating capacity by 62%.

An enforcement notice was served in 2018 because it was "blocking the view of the listed building".

The brick frontage is thought to be a later addition to the building

The background

• The marquee was put up in 2013 - it was immediately looked into by the council and a planning application process was started

• An enforcement notice was served in 2018 saying it must be removed

• The restaurant appealed and the application was also subject to an independent planning inspector inquiry

• The restaurant lost its final appeal 18 months ago, with another 18 months given for it to be removed

• A plan for an extension was rejected in September, and it has been working on another one

• The marquee was taken down on 4 October 2022

Mr Watson said the company had tried to reach a solution, but the challenge was finding a way to link the three separate buildings on the site, without using outside space, while also "keeping the front of the building entirely exposed".

"They want us to build further behind the building... and they do not want it as big," he said.

"It may not be feasible to put it there and if the seating capacity is reduced further then it may not be worth doing it at all... it wouldn't be a worthwhile investment."

It has a low breast-shot waterwheel and all its machinery, which can still be seen inside the restaurant

St Albans City & District Council said it had a "duty to start an enforcement investigation" after a complaint from a community group.

Its strategic director of community, Christine Traill, said: "As there was a clear breach of the law, we had no option but to serve an enforcement notice in 2018, ordering its removal.

"The owner appealed against that decision and an independent planning inspector upheld the notice after an inquiry.

"We support our local businesses and have been talking to the Waffle House about a solution to this complex planning issue."

Ms Traill said the council was expecting a new application for an extension shortly which would "maintain the appearance" of the building and it would be considered "in the normal way".

Mr Watson said it may end up with the building not being financially viable but it would "weather the storm and trade as best as we can".

"If we don't get permission we are considering looking for alternative premises in the long-term," he said.

In the short term, he said they were looking at other options including "umbrellas and parasols with heaters and blankets to keep out the chill".

During the Covid pandemic lockdown after 2020, venues were allowed to erect marquees without the need for planning permission and this was made permanent in December 2021, with the proviso that listed buildings could only erect them for 120 days a year.