A TEA room owner who is in danger of seeing her business close is calling on the support residents after submitting a vital planning application.

Nicola Littlejohn, 50, from Sible Hedingham has been blown away by the support of villagers since complaints were raised over her business.

The mum-of-two opened the Violet the Vintage Caravan team room at her home on Swan Street in October.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength with the business, which is based out of a caravan, hiring a number of staff and obtaining a five-star hygiene rating.

Nicola took up cake decorating after she was left in a life-threatening condition following a brain haemorrhage before her son, William’s birth.

Unable to return to her office job, Nicola found her baking passion making cupcakes for her son’s school fair.

After launching a wedding cake business in 2012, Nicola bought the caravan to use at events in 2019.

But the pandemic crippled the wedding business, costing Nicola about £25,000.

As a result, she opened the tea room which has since been a big hit with villagers.

But complaints, which were mainly focused on the business’s traffic and parking impact on Swan Street, prompted Braintree Council to say planning permission was needed to keep the business open.

Now Nicola has submitted her application to Braintree Council and is appealing for the support of residents.

The bid seeks to change the use of her home’s site from residential use to part residential part business use.

She hopes people will send comments of support to the council.

At a meeting, Sible Hedingham Parish Council didn’t oppose the bid with about 12 residents showing up to support Nicola.

She said: “The loss of Violet’s would not just mean the end of my business and an asset to the village, but it would also see the loss of eight people’s jobs and potentially the loss of our home.

“I really don’t know how to thank everyone for their support. It has been overwhelming. I appreciate it more than I could ever say.

“Violet’s Tearoom is more than just a business to me, and for those that work for me and visit us, it has become a family and one I hope we can continue.”