Planners have been warned of possible road accidents should an oyster-tasting suite in West Mersea go ahead.

Revised plan drawings from Colchester wine merchants Lay and Wheeler have received a cool reception from the town council.

Recommending refusal, they said that, without parking on the Coast Road site, clients would be asked to walk to laid-on transport.

"It is quite likely that one or more will be the 'worse for wear' from the effects of drinking, and will run the risk of being hit by traffic, even though there is a short length of footpath near the premises," they told the borough authority.

In addition to highway concerns, members were worried about cooking smells, noise and loss of residents' amenity in a conservation area.

Lay and Wheeler now wants to retain the two sides and front elevation of the old oyster sheds, instead of dismantling them as originally planned.

While the scheme has won support among some residents, others claim it will mean the loss of a historical building.

By Clare Jeffs

Reporter's e-mail: clare_jeffs@thisisessex.co.uk

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