The owner of a high-end restaurant & banqueting hall has assured customers all bookings will be honoured, after news broke out of proposals to bulldoze the site and make way for apartments.

Plans were submitted on Monday (September 4) to convert The Cranleigh, on Station Lane in Hornchurch, into a two-storey building with roof level accommodation to provide nine dwellings.

Operating for nearly 40 years, the ‘Edwardian period building’ currently contains the dining spaces and kitchen on the ground floor, while the first floor contains a 2-bedroom dwelling that is the family home of the applicant who lives on site.

Christine Mckenzie, the owner of The Cranleigh, said she feels “it is the right time to retire” after clarifying why The Cranleigh is set to close following the initial report from the Romford Recorder.

She said: "As the owner of The Cranleigh, I would like to set the record straight.

"I have decided to retire on 1st January 2025. The restaurant and banqueting suite will continue to trade until 31st December 2024.

"I would never take a booking I could not complete. We have many bookings for 2024 - all will be honoured. I am not taking any bookings for 2025.

"I have already advised my very loyal staff of the plans to trade for the next 16 months, my staff will all stay till the closure.

"Please be assured if you have a booking it is safe."

The owner also said that the decision was “not taken lightly” after the business being part of her life for 40 years.

Under the plans, the owner will continue to live on the premises of the new block. A design statement by FORM Architecture attached with the application says the site is suitable for “higher density development” and the provision of nine units is “policy compliant”.

It is located next to several other higher density flatted developments, it adds, and has good transport links in the area making it a “sustainable location” for redevelopment.

The proposal, it claims, will provide a “high quality building” which will “enhance the street scene” that has a diverse range of old-style and modern properties situated on it.

A previous planning application by the owner to build 11 flats in place of the current building was refused by the council in March 2021. The current proposal reportedly addresses the issues raised then, with a “refined design” that now reflects the “scale and appearance” of existing buildings around the site.

The façade, the design statement states, “is highly articulated” and “detailed with many Edwardian period features” to blend it with the surrounding.

A decision on the new application is expected to be taken by November 2. Detailed planning documents can be found on council’s website: https://development.havering.gov.uk/OcellaWeb/planningDetails?reference=P1364.23&from=planningSearch