Stanway café at old delivery office put on hold by council

Colchester Council’s planning committee has voted to put the blueprints for Royal Mail’s former Lexden Heath delivery office on hold until councillors have seen the site for themselves.

Businessman Gezim Aliaj, who owns the building, wants to open a café with space for 38 diners at the site in London Road, Stanway, Colchester.

It has been unused since Royal Mail moved out of the building, which was once a full-service post office, in 2016.

Plans - the old delivery office (Image: Google)

The council’s planning department had recommended the blueprints, which also include a one-bedroom flat upstairs, be approved.

But it was left to councillors to decide after Stanway councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell flagged a list of concerns with “one of the worst applications I’ve ever seen”.

She told the committee there had been “allegations of waste being buried following diggers being seen on the site” and asked: “Who is responsible for the investigation and enforcement of either illegal landfill or contaminated land?”

An outbuilding intended for storage has been “fully kitted out as a barbers”, she claimed.

Petition - Lesley Scott-Boutell (right) fought to save the delivery office from closure

'Potentially a barbers'

Planning officer Chris Harden confirmed the council’s environmental protection team is aware of the claims the land had been dug up for landfilling but needs evidence of a rule break “before they can take any meaningful action”.

Mr Harden had visited the site before the meeting and confirmed part of the outbuilding “looked like it potentially could be a barbers”, adding “it’s not open”.

“If that use does commence then we would have to take enforcement action to say ‘you can’t do that without planning permission’,” he said.

Photos provided to the committee showed some work had already taken place.

A spokesman for Mr Aliaj said: “He’s not an English national and was misadvised by another consultant and he apologises for starting the works before.”

Prettygate councillor Leigh Tate criticised the “nonsense” and “poorly thought out” bid.

She said: “I’m wholly unsupportive of this.”

But Marks Tey and Layer councillor Jackie Maclean said the café would “enhance the area”.

“We are either for business or not,” she said. “I think people have the right to have a café if they want to use that.”