A pub owner who had to close her business after local residents complained about the smell of bacon and the sound of teacups has finally reopened 100 meters from its original location.
Emma Ayles was devastated when she had to close The Caddy Shack cafe and make eight staff redundant after a ‘storm in a teacup’ row.
Residents near the Weymouth cafe complained that noise from her business was an “unacceptable intrusion” on their standard of living.
They claimed that it was mainly the sound of clinking teacups and the rattling of cutlery that disturbed the peace in the area.
Dorset Council sided with residents and forced Ms Ayles, 48, to close the shop last December.
But after successfully appealing to her local council, Ms Ayles has set up her cafe in a converted shipping container 109 meters away from the complainants’ homes.
Mrs Ayles, a married mother of two, said she was pleased to be trading again and relieved that ‘common sense had prevailed’.
She said: ‘It’s been really great to be back open and we’ve been very busy, with customers coming in non-stop.
‘We have 12 tables and as soon as one becomes available, it is taken by another group.
‘It’s a relief that common sense has finally prevailed after we were closed over something as trivial as the sound of teacups and the smell of bacon.
‘But that’s the past now and it’s time to put that behind me and look ahead.
‘The feedback has been very positive and we hope to employ ten people.’
Ms Ayles opened The Caddy Shack Cafe at Weymouth and Portland Rugby Club in Dorset in April 2022, after moving from another location in the seaside town.
The rugby club, a tenant of the land, helped her temporarily set up the venue while she applied for a permit to make the cafe permanent.
The café was a popular meeting place for walkers, school children and disabled people on mobility scooters.
But three residents expressed their opposition to the application in October 2022 on the grounds of ‘noise and odour’.
After being told she would have to close the cafe, Mrs Ayles submitted a new application to Dorset Council, requiring her to relocate the business to another site in the Weymouth Rugby Club car park.
The local community came to her aid with letters of support and a Change.Org petition received more than 4,000 signatures in a month.
The revised plans were approved after the most vocal complainant dropped his opposition to them.
Responding to the revised plans, lead objector Robert Smith wrote earlier this year: ‘As neighbors who had previously objected to the location of the Caddy Shack, we would like to say that we are pleased with the new location, on the site where we originally suggested.
‘None of the residents wanted this business to close, we just wanted it to be closer to the rugby club again.
“It’s just a shame that the Caddy Shack and the rugby club have chosen not to consult with their neighbors.”
There was a festive atmosphere over the weekend as dozens of locals turned out to support the packed cafe as it reopened.
MailOnline contacted Dorset Council for comment.