No.17 in Mundesley to close after toilet row with council

No.17 in Mundesley will close permanently on June 16, the café's owners Olly and Laura Deakin have announced. 

It comes after the couple were told they needed to install a customer toilet by North Norfolk District Council (NNDC) after increasing the number of seats at the café without permission.

No.17 in Mundesley is set to close on June 16, the café's owners Olly and Laura Deakin (centre) have announced (Image: No.17)

Legally, businesses serving food or drink with 10 or more seats must have a toilet for customers - but the council found almost double the number of seats at No.17 during a recent inspection.

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The council claimed the couple were no longer running the café as a takeaway as agreed when they registered the business last year, and ordered them to install a toilet or remove the seats.  

But Mr and Mr Deakin said this was “loo-dicrous” as there is a public toilet block just yards away from the Beach Road café on the opposite side of the road - so close it can be seen from the window. 

Now, the couple have announced the café will close after being open for just nine months so they can "prioritise our mental health and wellbeing". 

"It is with a heavy heart that we are announcing that No.17 will be closing permanently as of the end of business on Sunday 16th June," the couple, who opened the café in August 2023, said in a post on the No.17 Facebook page.

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"A massive thank you to all of our amazing customers for supporting us over the last nine months, we will miss you all.

"We have decided we need to prioritise our mental health and wellbeing so have sadly taken the tough decision to close the café." 

No.17's owners, couple Olly and Laura Deakin (Image: Oliver Deakin)