A cafe owner in Ipswich has withdrawn her application for a grant from the Towns Deal after the council asked her to pay for improvements first.

Little Beans Coffee House on Foxhall Road has been owned and run by Christy Hendry for the last four years. 

In August last year, an opportunity came through the shopping parades project of the Towns Deal for shopkeepers to apply for changes to their storefronts.

Mrs Hendry applied for a renovation worth £5,125 to add bi-folding doors and a shade sail to her cafe. 

However, after months of no response, she was told earlier this month by Ipswich Borough Council that she would have to purchase the items herself and the council would pay her back.

Ms Hendry said she will not be able to afford the changes on her own.Mrs Hendry said she would not be able to afford the changes on her own. (Image: Shikhar Talwar)

"I just started laughing when I heard this," Mrs Hendry said. 

"If I had five grand to pay for these improvements I would have done so already.

"I can't do it if I have to pay for it and then they will invoice me back."

The Towns Deal is a £25m fund provided by the Department for Levelling Up in 2021 to the borough council to give an economic boost to the town.

Foxhall Road's shopping parade is meant to get £150,000 in improvements from the Towns Deal.Foxhall Road's shopping parade is meant to get £150,000 in improvements from the Towns Deal. (Image: CHARLOTTE BOND)

Out of this, the borough council have dedicated £2.8m to 28 shopping parades, one of which is Foxhall Road.

The road is getting £150,000 from the fund to improve pavements, streetlights, CCTV and shopfronts - an application for which opened in August last year.

Mrs Hendry wanted to use the funding to reduce the heat in her cafe.Mrs Hendry wanted to use the funding to reduce the heat in her cafe. (Image: CHARLOTTE BOND)

Mrs Hendry was one such applicant, who wanted to use this to reduce the heat in her cafe. 

However, now that she is being asked to pay for it first, she says she doesn't have the money for it. 

Her cafe is independently run, and as one customer described it, also acts like a community hub - as a result she is not able to afford the improvements.

She said: "This doesn't make it a grant. The council should not call it a grant if it isn't."

Mrs Hendry has now had to withdraw her application and is still waiting to hear about other shopping parade improvements to the town.