A FARM building could be transformed into a restaurant at a rural estate if plans are approved by Lichfield District Council.
If the scheme gets the green light, the venue would be available for use by overnight guests attending weddings at the Thorpe Estate at Thorpe Constantine.
A supporting letter submitted as part of the application said:
“The existing building is located to the north of Constantine House, which has recently been converted to overnight accommodation that is most frequently used in association with the wedding business within the nearby walled garden.
“The accommodation at Constantine House does not have a fully operating kitchen, indeed there are no cooking facilities within the building.
“Feedback from guests is generally positive and the accommodation is of exceptional quality. The difficulty has, however, been in catering for guests prior to the wedding and the day afterwards. With no catering facilities this puts the enterprise at a competitive disadvantage.
“The restaurant is planned to accommodate a total 46 covers with the kitchen area to the rear end of the building, thereby allowing customers to benefit from the open space and views across the estate grounds.
“The majority of customers will therefore already be on site but the works to facilitate the conversion are not inexpensive and it is hoped that the restaurant will attract customers from the surrounding area.
“Parking for the proposed restaurant will largely accommodate wedding guests already attending the site. For those customers who attend outside of a wedding party, these will likely be during the evening or weekend when the offices at Stablethorpe are not occupied.”
