A well-known restaurant tycoon has been given the green light to turn a historic cottage in a popular Canterbury park into a “champagne cafe”.

A La Turka boss Mehmet Dari plans to almost quadruple the size of Ivy Cottage in Westgate Gardens, after receiving the unanimous support of Canterbury City Council's planning committee yesterday.

While he has no firm plans for the building, he says depending on licensing, potential uses could be a "champagne bar, cafe or Airbnb".

But while it was overwhelmingly welcomed by the council, the proposal was not without its critics, with some residents lodging objections.

Neighbour Barbara Janiszewska wrote: “I am the nearest resident to this planning application and I do not support this at all.

“It is a ludicrous idea and some might say a form of vandalism.

“I see that this will also be subject to an extension.

“I don’t understand why that beautiful historic little building is destined for this."

Fellow neighbour Simon Wright raised concerns the extension and cafe would cause “more litter and noise”.

“Both myself and neighbours have to clean up litter constantly," he said.

"There is also a huge rat problem caused by the river and park.

“This will only make things worse for the residents with more litter, noise, and an ugly extension added to a very old building.

“There is no need for a cafe in the park whatsoever and the owner is just using this as an opportunity to make money with no regard for the residents.

"Canterbury is already awash with cafes."

But Mr Dari, who runs Turkish restaurants in Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and Ramsgate, insists there is “nothing” like the champagne cafe nearby.

He is also adamant he won't change the character of the detached flint and brick building, which was formerly owned by the city council and used as a store.

Andrea Risvold - agent for Whitstable-based Turner Jackson Day Architects which is designing the extension - told the committee the extension would be “modest” and “sensitively designed”.

She added they plan to use a “more traditional material palette” of red brick and flint walls “to complement the heritage of the original building”.

Canterbury resident Jan Pahl attended the planning committee, telling members she was “overjoyed” at the plans to convert it to a cafe, adding that “it’ll add greatly to the beauty of Westgate parks”.

After the meeting, Mr Dari told KentOnline: “The idea is to extend the building, repair it, refit it, do renovation, and then apply to the council for the licence of use, for example, food use or a champagne bar or AirBnB.

"There are a few options in front of us now. We could do a champagne or afternoon tea bar for the gardens. If that does not happen with licensing, we could also turn it into an AirBnB holiday let.

"If that doesn’t happen, we could turn it into a little house for ourselves."

Addressing the concerns of objectors, Mr Dari says "they've got nothing to worry about".

"Where we won’t be a nightclub or pub or bar, it will be a chilled atmosphere in the afternoon hours rather than late hours," he said.

"We will not open until late, it will probably be from the morning to the afternoon. If we do get permission for use as a café, we have to stick with the opening hours of the gardens.”

Mr Dari says he is "very happy and very excited" to have won planning permission for the site.

He added: "I think it will improve the area because that building was derelict for a long time, so Canterbury council and local residents will appreciate it when it’s been renovated."