Alldens Lane Hilltop Restaurant

By Chris Caulfield

local democracy reporter

An “amazing secret hilltop café in Surrey with stunning views and picture postcard lanes” is set to make a comeback as a restaurant run by chefs with a background in Michelin-starred kitchens.

The Hilltop Kitchen in Alldens Lane, Godalming, has been granted a licence by Waverley Borough Council that will help it open its doors once again after planning problems forced it to close in its original form.

The application was decided after a four-hour hearing on Monday, March 16, and in the face of some strong local opposition over the potential impact it would have on the area.

Allden’s Lane is a narrow single track road in the Surrey Hills with very little space for cars to pass.

Opponents also sought to stop the plans over noise issues in an area known for its tranquillity.

In all, the application drew 257 letters of representation. Most, 189, were in support and 68 were against.

Lawyers seeking to stop the bid said support was mainly over Hilltop Kitchen operating as a café whereas those in opposition raised problems relating to extra traffic.

The restaurant will offer farm-to-table dining and with an overall focus on locally sourced produce, including, where possible, alcoholic drinks.

Lawyers acting on behalf of the Hilltop Kitchen, which will be run by two chefs, said: “Both have worked in Michelin-starred restaurants and the intention is to bring world-class food at these premises.

“The original concept was an all-day café and there were a number of disadvantages about that, we didn’t know how many people were going to be turning up and if there was no room for them they would sit on the grass outside.”

Bookings at the new restaurant, they said, would be staggered   – because the even flow eases the pressure on the kitchen.

They added: “We all know that Alldens Lane is narrow.

“We all know that there is a generous speed limit.

“We know there are limited passing spaces, and we know that, so far as this application is concerned, granting or refusal of permission for us to sell an English sparkling wine at the premises is not going to alter that one jot.

“What happened in Aldens Lane, that will continue.”

He added that, as a high-class restaurant, it would have less traffic than in its current permitted guise as an all-day café.

One of the owners, Sam Huxley, spoke of his passion for the project.

He said: “We want something that everyone can be proud of and not upset people.

“It sits within a farm and we are cooking food from the farm.”

Opponents said the new venture was markedly different from the old one and one, where diners would be in high spirits leaving the venue late at night.

Cllr Jane Austin

Cllr Jane Austin, speaking as the chair of Bramley Parish Council, said that over the past few months they had been contacted by an unusually large number of residents expressing deep concern about the application.

Lawyers acting against the application said: “It’s very quiet during the day but at night time for the hours suggested, beyond 11 o’clock at night, the noise of traffic coming down these lanes, the headlights shining into people’s housing, is subject to a public nuisance.

“We have a single track lane, we have no footways, we have no public lighting whatsoever, it’s very, very dark, there are passing conflicts.

“There is foreseeable collision risk, from the comings and goings from that site.”

Hilltop Kitchen 2.0 was granted its licence. It expects staff to leave the site within 20 minutes of the last customers.

The last booking time on Fridays would be 9pm – but limited to smaller tables.

Cllr Jacqueline Keen

In issuing the committee’s decision, Cllr Jacquie Keen (Lib Dem, Haslemere West) said licensing was not there to control customer behaviour once they were beyond the direct control of management and that it was not concerned with traffic and road use.

The licence application was approved with owners told that external seating could not be used after 9pm and there were to be no external speakers used on the site.

Hilltop Kitchen will also be encouraged to  ask customers not to park on Alldens Lane.