A TEA room owner has finally found her “forever home” after a tough time of moving around following a council dispute.

Nicola Littlejohn, from Sible Hedingham, is set to reopen Violets Vintage Tea Room in the neighbouring village of Castle Hedingham, putting an end to an almost two-year struggle to find a permanent residence.

Nicola started her tea room business, Violet the Vintage Caravan, on the driveway of her home in 2020.

However, Braintree Council’s planning committee refused to allow permission for the café to stay operating due to issues such as parking and lack of extraction ventilation in the kitchen.

Nicola later acquired a new base at the White Lion Pub in Sible Hedingham, before moving on from there too.

She also attempted running her business from the village hall but received more complaints about running a commercial business from a community building.

Another opportunity arose to move into the Stone Yard Pantry, in Sudbury, but Nicola was forced to leave after timings meant she could not look after her son William before school.

Now it appears the saga is over, with Nicola finding a new home in Castle Hedingham.

She said: “After almost two years of uncertainty and moving from one place to another I am so excited to announce that finally Violets will be moving to our forever home in Castle Hedingham on Monday, May 1.

“The tea room will be in St James's Street, next door to the village shop. You can enter through the shop itself, we won’t be going into Buckleys.

“We want to bring to this beautiful village a traditional vintage tea room, serving lovely homemade food to eat in or take away.

“As Castle Hedingham is such a lovely place to visit and walk around, we will also be providing picnic lunches for you to enjoy while taking in the sites.

“We can't wait to see all our amazing customers and welcome some new into the family.

“Thank you to Jo Beavis, who we wouldn’t be reopening without, and thanks to everyone so much for all your good wishes and support over our troubled times.

“Here's to a wonderful future.”

The tea room will open seven days a week, from 9.30am to 3.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 3.30pm on Sunday.