Castle Hedingham: Buckleys and Magnolia Tea Room plan go-ahead

Buckley’s Tea Rooms, in St James' Street, Castle Hedingham, was a popular café which shut in June 2020.

Owners confirmed it would not be re-opening as the first lockdown lifted.

The site has been closed for years, and the site had been reportedly taken over by new management in December 2021.

A planning application for Buckleys and the Magnolia Tea Rooms was sent to Braintree Council in February and has now been approved.

The site will be converted into a two-bedroom holiday let, with two areas of the property kept for commercial use.

The grade two listed property, which is believed to date back to the 17th Century, has previously been used as a tea rooms and a post office.

Its existing layout will be changed, as the first floor will be separated into one holiday let, and there will a separate commercial area.

The ground floor will be dedicated to a shop area and a separate retail unit.

Building - another image of the property from St James Street (Image: Google maps)

The holiday let will be accessed by an entrance at the back of the building.

A commercial entrance will be via set of double doors off Majendie Lane.

The building’s outside appearance will remain the same.

Prior to this application, there had been other proposals for the site.

In 2023, a planning application was approved for the building to be converted to a holiday let, with a post office, and the restoration of the tea rooms.

Renovation job - a Street View image of the building from Majendie Lane (Image: Google Maps)

But the development did not start and the post office relocated.

Another proposal to convert the building into three holiday lets with no commercial, retail or service spaces was put forward.

Concerns were raised regarding the loss of community assets, and that proposal was withdrawn.

This latest approved application could see the tea rooms restored, according to papers.