A DISGRUNTLED resident has hit out at a business owner over ‘noisy’ building work on the property next to her home.

Brenda Parsons says works to the former Village Pantry in Seascale have caused her ‘inconvenience’ and ‘distress’ for nearly a year.

Lizzie Mawson wants to move her two Seascale businesses - Mawson’s Ice Cream Parlour and the village bakery - into the property on South Parade, which she bought last year.

A planning application is currently with Cumberland Council to create a new ice-cream parlour with a café, delicatessen and small beach shop, as well as a soft play area downstairs. A decision is yet to be made by the planning committee.

Mrs Mawson says her new business venture will be a ‘huge asset’ to the community and the response from other residents has been overwhelmingly positive.

But Mrs Parsons has repeatedly raised concerns over the plans and associated building works to authorities including Seascale Parish Council, which Mrs Mawson is chair of.

Mrs Parsons said the ‘noise and disturbance’ from internal demolition works were ‘horrendous’.

She said: “It went on week after week. There were times our garage was blocked off so we could not get our car out, or even open the garage door. It was during this period we had our first concerns that asbestos was in the rubble.

“We were more tolerant than they deserved. Although it did get too much at times, we could not hear the TV. It went on through mealtimes.

“My daughter has a very responsible global job and needs to be on Zoom a lot. The house would shake. I often said, ‘if their property was not attached to ours, theirs would collapse’.

“Never once did Lizzie Mawson make any attempt to assure us that what she was doing would not adversely impact on us.”

Mrs Parsons has also complained about ‘the mess’ of brick and cement dust left on her property, which has since been cleaned and paid for by Mrs Mawson. Mrs Parsons said her daughter still had to pay for someone to clean out the guttering.

She has also accused Mrs Mawson of ‘treating the whole thing as a joke’ after posting a photo of herself on Facebook, holding an asbestos report.

Mrs Mawson said: “I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed by the public support we’ve had. Everyone I’ve spoken to thinks it’s a massive asset to the village.

“All I’m doing is taking two businesses I already run in the village, both of which have been established for over 15 years and just re-site them into an area that has always been a shop.

“We haven’t had any other complaints about the building work. We had a full asbestos survey done before the builders could even come on site.

“Everything that I am doing is for the community benefit. We’ve spent hundreds of thousands on this. It’s going to be incredible.

“When we took over that shop, it was completely neglected. How is me investing in that building and making it perfect, going to be bad for anybody, especially the person whose house it is joined on to?

“This is not what Seascale is like. I would hate people to think it’s a place where there is confrontation because it isn’t. It’s just such a shame. I want to get on with everybody.

“We are taking an abandoned, disused property that had fallen into disrepair and make a massive investment. It’s going to be stunning and will benefit the community. It’s a place that everybody, of all ages, can come and enjoy.”