A cafe owner who was forced to close her business after locals complained about the smell of bacon and the noise of teacups has finally reopened 100 yards from its original site.
Emma Ayles was devastated when she had to close The Caddy Shack cafe and make eight staff redundant after a ‘teacup row storm’.
Local residents around a cafe in Weymouth have complained that noise from her business has caused ‘unacceptable harm’ to their standard of living.
They claimed that the sound of clinking teacups and rattling cutlery was particularly disruptive to the tranquility of the area.
Dorset Council sided with residents and forced Mrs Ayles, 48, to close the shop last December.
But after successfully appealing to the local council, Mrs Ayles shipped her cafe into a modified shipping container 109 yards from the complainants’ homes.
Mrs Ayles, a married mother-of-two, said she was happy to be trading again and was relieved that “common sense had prevailed”.
She said: “It was really great to open and we were very busy and had customers non-stop.
“We have 12 tables and as soon as one left, another group would take them.
“It’s a relief that sanity has finally prevailed after we were shut down over something as trivial as the sound of cups of tea and the smell of bacon.
“But that’s in the past now and it’s time to put it behind us and look forward.
“The response has been really positive and we hope to employ 10 people.”
Ms Ayles opened The Caddy Shack Cafe in Weymouth and Portland Rugby Club in Dorset in April 2022 after moving from another location in the seaside town.
The rugby club, tenants of the land, helped her set up the site temporarily while she sought planning permission to make the cafe permanent.
The cafe was a popular meeting place for pedestrians, school children and disabled people passing by on scooters.
But three residents voiced their opposition to the application on “noise and odour” grounds in October 2022.
After being told to close the cafe, Ms Ayles submitted a new application to Dorset Council, which included moving the business to another location in the Weymouth Rugby Club car park.
The local community rallied to her aid with letters of support, and a Change.Org petition garnered over 4,000 signatures in a month.
The revised plans were approved after the most vocal complainant dropped his opposition to them.
In response to the revised plans, the main objector, Robert Smith, wrote earlier this year: “As neighbors who previously objected to the Caddy Shack’s location, we would like to say that we are happy with its new location that we originally proposed.
“None of the surrounding neighbors wanted this business to close, we just wanted it to move back to the rugby club.
“It’s just a shame that the Caddy Shack and the rugby club chose not to consult with their neighbours.”
There was a festive mood at the weekend as dozens of locals turned out to support the packed cafe as it reopened.
MailOnline has contacted Dorset Council for comment.