A woman who has taken over a cafe in a former coastguard station says she has to “pinch herself” every day at the thought of getting to work in such an amazing location.

Mum Debby Lee is the new owner of the Bluebird Tea Rooms on the White Cliffs of Dover, at St Margaret’s - which offers spectacular views over the English Channel.

The century-old building has not been used as a cafe since the pandemic, when previous owners the Wallace family called it a day having taken over in 1994.

But now, Ms Lee wants to extend the venue – which played a vital role during the war – and bring it back to life for villagers and visitors.

She said: “It was just such an iconic landmark for 30 years as a tea room before it shut for four years.

"The extension is so we can create a takeaway and gourmet coffee kiosk so we can do something a bit different and make more use of the lovely garden to give us more options.

“We also want to take on a few more staff members to help the economy of the village. We want to preserve the art deco building but bring it back to life and return it to its glory days.

“There’s a few pit stops along the coast here, but I want to keep some level of hospitality for the people of St Margaret’s who love this spot and enjoy the phenomenal views.”

The 60-year-old, who lives in London and has worked in hospitality for more than 20 years, took over the site in July last year for £750,000 and wants to spend a further £250,000 on the refurbishment.

She added: “I still have to pinch myself every day that I can come back to this.”

A planning application has been submitted to Dover District Council (DDC) to increase the size of the 516 sq m property to accommodate more seating and provide a larger food and drink preparation area.

The small extension will allow for “the larger barista coffee machine setups” Ms Lee intends to use and would lead to several more seats and space for those using its garden area too.

This application comes three years after plans to convert the first floor of the property into two holiday lets were approved by DDC.

Speaking about plans for the future of the site, Ms Lee added: “We want to open in the evenings so people can enjoy the sunset as there's so many dog walkers, bird-watchers and nature lovers here as well.

“We hope to have sandwiches, ice cream, and local Kentish produce and snacks and we’ll also cater for vegans.

“So it needs a lot of love and needs a substantial refurbishment - it was in good shape before but I’m going to do a lot of remedial work.”

Should the plans be given the green light, the summer venue could open from June to October as well as potentially on weekends during the winter.

So far, 18 people have voiced their support for the plan via DDC’s planning portal.

One, Catherine Mackenzie, said: “I go walking often on the cliffs and really miss being able to get a coffee and a snack at the Bluebird Tea Rooms.

“It is a much-needed asset for the walkers as there is nowhere else around there that can provide this.”

Sally-Anne Tucke added: “I am fully in support of this very small extension to improve amenities to the general public.

“The cafe was a wonderful addition to the walk to the monument/St Margaret’s and it is great news that it will be back up and running once more providing much needed facilities.

“The views are wonderful and should be enjoyed by all - it was such a shame when it shut years ago.”

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A decision on the application is expected by April 30.

The land where the cafe now sits was acquired by the Ministry of War in 1914 and two huts were erected and used as a signal station during and after the First World War.

In the late 1920s, they were replaced by a purpose-built brick coastguard lookout.

It played a vital role during the Battle of Britain where a top secret revolutionary radar system, called Magnetron, was installed to detect incoming enemy aircraft.

So important was the building to the defence of the realm, it was protected by two anti-aircraft guns and retains an underground bunker. It even warranted two visits by Sir Winston Churchill.

Later, the lookout - now a fully equipped coastguard station complete with a radar scanner - continued its important role as the principal centre for the monitoring of what had become the busiest shipping lane in the world.

When a new multimillion-pound coastguard station was built nearer to Dover at Langdon Cliff, the old station was decommissioned and in 1994 offered for sale by public tenure where it was snapped by the Wallace family who ran it until 2020.