Café, shop and tourism units proposed in farmhouse conversion

Picture: CGI of the proposed farmhouse café, shop and tourist accommodation at the Beverley Gateway development.

The company behind the regeneration of a derelict industrial site near Beverley have submitted plans to create a farmhouse café, shop and tourist accommodation as part of the project.

Lovel Developments Limited sees the conversion of the existing building next to its Beverley Gateway development as bringing a significant boost to the economy of the local area with the potential to create around 20 jobs and to support local food and drink producers.

Philip Lovel, Managing Director of Lovel Developments Limited, said the new venture will benefit the retail, hospitality and tourism sectors but will not operate on a scale which competes with retailers in Beverley or nearby villages.

The three storey farmhouse is at the corner of the A1079 and Killingwoldgraves Lane and sits  next to the Beverley Gateway site which was home to a former wallpaper and fabric pattern books manufacturer destroyed by fire in 2009. Beverley Gateway already has planning permission for a filling station, a Starbucks drive-through store and four business units.   

The house is currently rented for residential use but is in need of renovation and the planning application to East Riding of Yorkshire Council is seeking consent for a change of use with extension and alteration of the property. The project would increase the gross internal area of the building from 365 square metres to 834 square metres. 

The planning application shows that the ground floor would accommodate the shop and the café. The shop would sell produce sourced directly from local suppliers including meat, dairy, fruit and veg and bakery and deli products. The café would also offer local produce as part of its breakfast and lunch menus.

Both facilities would be open to the public and would also serve the holiday rental accommodation which is planned for the first and second floors of the building.

The farmhouse grounds would be landscaped and would provide 41 parking spaces including three accessible spaces and some EV charging spaces. Access would be via the new entrance road already approved for the Beverley Gateway project.

Mr Lovel said: “We are proposing a high quality, sustainable development in keeping with its location in the open countryside, which will contribute towards supporting the rural economy and the sustainability of the area.

“The project has the potential to create around 20 new jobs in addition to employment during the construction phase and to support many more by providing new opportunities for local suppliers.”