A beloved village shop hailed as a ‘lifeline’ by locals is under threat of closure after a single complaint about its new wheelchair-accessible entrance sparked a planning row – and now the owners are facing a £20,000 bill to rip it down.
Kenga and Ajantha Kokulakumar, who run the Roos Village Store and Post Office in East Yorkshire, could be forced to undo accessibility improvements after council officials branded their shopfront ‘characterless’ and out of keeping with the historic area.
The couple, who took over the store in July 2024, closed for two months to carry out much-needed renovations – including installing a wider entrance, wheelchair ramp and security shutter to better serve elderly and disabled residents.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council has ordered the couple to reverse the modifications, claiming they were carried out without proper permissions and harm the appearance of the village’s conservation area.
Ms Kokulakumar, 40, said the returning the building to its original state could cost around £20,000, on top of the £10,000 the couple spent on the refurb.
She said: ‘We took over the shop last July. The old entrance had a huge stone step and our elderly and disabled customers really struggled to get in.
‘People kept asking if we could make it accessible.
‘So when we started renovations, we decided to move the door, add a ramp, and make it easier for everyone.
‘We didn’t realise we needed planning permission – it was a genuine mistake. We applied after the fact, but the council refused it twice.
‘They said the changes didn’t suit the conservation area.
‘Only one person complained, but more than 400 people have supported us. They say this shop is a lifeline – and it is. There are lots of elderly residents here.
‘They rely on us for shopping, banking, everything.’
Ms Kokulakumar said removing the new door and reinstating the old one would force them to move their service counter and rearrange and refit the entire store.
She added: ‘The changes cost us nearly £10,000, and now they want us to undo all of it. To reverse everything would cost more than £20,000 – we simply can’t afford it.
‘We’ve followed the rules the best we can. We’ve run businesses for years without any trouble.
‘This whole thing has caused so much stress. We’re just asking for a little common sense and support.’
More than 400 villagers have backed a petition to save the changes.
Paul Sanderson, 76, who lives nearby and uses a mobility scooter, said: ‘That’s the only shop there is in the village – it’s a lifeline for people like me.
‘The council’s being really petty if you ask me. You’d think having proper wheelchair access would be welcomed, not punished.
‘Before, I had to hang onto the wall just to try and get in to the shop. It wasn’t safe.
‘Now it’s easy to get inside – I come nearly every day. Without that new door and ramp, I’d struggle.
‘I think the council are just being petty’.
Among those to sign the petition in support of the shop was Dave Crum, 63.
He added: ‘Before the changes you’d have to climb up a massive stone step just to get in – it was ridiculous.
‘This new setup is brilliant, especially for all the old folk here.
‘Mobility scooters, wheelchairs – they can actually get in now. The shop’s been transformed.
‘I know the council has a job to do but it’s a barmy decision.
‘I get that it’s a conservation area and all that – but come on, it’s not like they’ve stuck massive neon signs up. It’s just a welcoming little shopfront now.
‘A bit of common sense wouldn’t go amiss.’
The shop owners received a letter from the council after reopening in September last year ordering them to submit a retrospective planning application – which was refused.
The couple appealed, but the planning inspectorate backed the council at a hearing earlier this month.
The sole complaint, from a resident named Willis Ainsley, reads: ‘Roos Village Store and Post Office is a highly valued community amenity.
‘However, the building alterations have significantly changed the character of, and, the street scene of Main Street.
‘In my opinion it has caused harm to Roos Conservation Area North.
‘I therefore register my objection to the application.’
When this week visited the tiny village, east of Hull, locals were united in support of the shop.
Helen Seel, 56, said ‘I understand it’s an old village and the importance of conservation but I don’t think there are many people who object to this, particularly the elderly.
‘I don’t have an issue with it at all. I think the frontage blends in well with the building.
‘The ramp makes it so much easier for people with walking aids to get into the shop. I want to see the council show a bit of empathy for the people who struggle to walk.
‘We’re so lucky to have such a good shop and Post Office in the village. Losing the shop altogether would be the worst situation.’
East Riding of Yorkshire council acknowledged the shop’s ‘central role’ in the village’s conservation area but criticised the new frontage as ‘overtly modern’ and out of step with its historic surroundings.
Officials claimed the use of ‘unsympathetic materials’ had resulted in ‘a prominent, unfamiliar and incongruous addition’ to the traditional building, describing the ramp as ‘alien’.
A council officer concluded: ‘Regrettably, the door surround and shopfront have now been lost and replaced with a modern, automated sliding door entrance.
‘It is considered that the proposal does not preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.
‘The existing building contributed positively towards the Conservation Area however the nature of the works is considered to be visually intrusive from the frontage of the site and detract from the overall character of the building.’
The council said it hoped to ‘work proactively with the applicant’ to resolve the breach and ‘address the concerns raised’.