A FAMILY faces losing their home after planners turned down permission to continue their café business – even though it has been open for more than a decade.

Dean and Nikki Exton have been tenants of the National Trust-owned Downhouse Farm in Higher Eype for the past 20 years, but when farming hit tough times they were encouraged to diversify on their 350-acre holding.

A café seemed like a logical step to use their own organic produce and without its income the farm can’t support the family and they’ll be forced to move out, they say.

At first the business was on such a small scale they didn’t need planning permission but as its reputation grew so did the customers and six years ago they applied for, and got, temporary consent.

That was renewed three years ago and when it was due again the planning officer advised them to go for permanent permission to save the expense of applying every three years.

But some neighbours objected – citing the poor condition of the narrow road leading to the café.

John Lazenby of Howes said: “The lane is unsuited to either the volume of traffic now created during the summer by the enterprises along its length or to the size of some of the modern recreational vehicles driven by summer visitors.”

Ian Deslandes from Greystones added: “Residents frequently encounter convoys of several vehicles moving up or down the lane together. Where two such convoys meet there is usually complete chaos.”

Mrs Exton, who employs 17 local staff, said: “I was devastated by their reaction because they have never mentioned it. “We have got immediate neighbours who are fully supportive but apart from two objections the other households all came here after we started the café.

“They have always known the state of the lane. The decent part of it belongs to the National Trust and Dean paid a substantial amount of money to have it resurfaced.”

Last year the cafe attracted nearly 20,000 visitors but the majority come on foot, said Mrs Exton.

“Apart from the section with a bad surface, the road is no different to the narrow road down into Eype.

“That road is longer, has more twists and turns, has no official passing places, yet it carries a huge daily traffic.

“The planners seem to have got it wrong. The reason given was that being in a remote location with poor access it would introduce a commercial/tourist and community use in an ‘unsustainable location’.

“That could apply to every little lane in West Dorset.”