A SMALL cafe has been given the go-ahead at a former petrol station on the outskirts of East Linton.

Bostock Bakery moved into the former Torness Motors showroom and used it as a production venue.

Now, owners Lindsay and Ross Baxter have been given the go-ahead by East Lothian Council to allow people to sit and enjoy a variety of baked goods at the premises off Dunbar Road – once Covid-19 rules allow.

East Lothian Council’s planning department gave permission to allow a change of use to include the cafe and an outdoor seating area.

A council report highlighted that there had been no objections to the plans and stressed that the cafe section of the business would be ancillary to the existing bakery.

The report reads: “The proposed change of use of part of the existing building for use as a cafe would be relatively small such that the internal public floor space of the proposed cafe use would only measure some 104 square metres.

“The remaining internal floor space of the building, which measures some 209 square metres, would remain unaltered.

“The proposed cafe use of the building, including its outdoor seating area (which would measure some 23 square metres in area), would be ancillary to the predominantly Class 4 business use of the building as a production bakery.”

Outside, there will be seven tables, with two chairs at each table for people to enjoy one of the products.

The planning officer said that the scale of the outdoor development would be “appropriate” for the location and would be “well-integrated into its surroundings”.

Twenty-two parking spaces will also be created, with four set aside for staff, and space for 22 bicycles.

A supporting statement included in the planning application from Bostock Bakery, which also has premises in North Berwick, highlighted the benefits of the scheme.

It reads: “When Bostock Bakery took on the building, their aim was to use it solely as a production bakery to provide goods to their already-successful outlet in North Berwick, but soon after opening they began to receive an increasing number of visits from people enquiring if they could buy direct; it was then that they decided to introduce a small counter space to sell direct from the bakery.

“Since this time, the bakery has increased in popularity to become a well-respected part of the community of East Linton, serving both locals and visitors from further afield.

“As part of their commitment to remain in East Linton, Bostock are seeking to invest in improvements to the site and to regularise the use of the building for serving food and drink, although this will remain supplementary to use of the space as production bakery.”