Ocean's Braintree facing problems and could be 'closed for years'

Entrepreneur Barrie Drewitt-Barlow is the owner of the grade II listed former Swan pub, in Bank Street, which is set to become Ocean’s Braintree, a high-class dining experience.

Ocean’s Braintree will offer a fusion of Japanese and Caribbean-inspired dishes, such as sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki, whilst Ocean Chapman, of Braintree, spearheads as executive chef and business partner.

Mr Drewitt-Barlow and Ms Chapman met after both appearing on Channel 5’s Rich House, Poor House, which filmed last year.

Former name - an image of the building's shopfront when it was called The Swan (Image: Newsquest) Following Mr Drewitt-Barlow’s takeover of the building, the America-based businessman planned to invest a figure between £1.5 million to £2 million into the building.

The plan has always been to modernise the building whilst retaining its unique features, with the hope for a launch for the Christmas trade period.

However, Mr Drewitt-Barlow has now confirmed the site may not be the first Ocean’s Braintree due to the complex nature of the repairs and he claims the local authority is not being helpful.

He said: "It looks like we may well be shelving the idea of opening this venue as the first Ocean's restaurant as it is becoming a nightmare with enforcement on our backs every five seconds.

Renovation work - a recent photo of the ground floor area (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow) “The roof is literally caving in, and they will not allow more repairs to be done if it is over more than five tiles that need to be fixed up.

“They are literally turning up on site for everything and making it impossible to do anything that needs doing immediately to bring the building back to a decent state of repair."

According to the entrepreneur, the building has holes in its roof “from years of neglect” and last week one whole side of the roof collapsed and caused water to leak into the building.

Damaged - the roof area (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow) Hole - the area of roof that has fallen down (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow)

Food lovers - Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and Ocean chapman with executive consultant chef to Ocean’s Braintree, David Woodford, former Master Chef Asia runner-up (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow) At the moment, the collapsed roof section has been covered with tarpaulin and they have been told to “stop all work with immediate effect”.

He said: “Our hands are tied with this building because it is grade two listed, we totally get that.

“For this to be a success, both the local planning department and the heritage consultant that Braintree Council use, need to work with us, not against us to help get this site up and running as soon as possible.

“It is likely that this site will remain closed for several years to come and in the way it looks right now.

“The essential repairs needed are in the hands of a consultant who has totally different views to ours on how this building needs to have urgent repairs.

“I’m at the point where I would rather take my money and spend it somewhere else.”

A lot of work to be done - on site at Ocean's Braintree (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow) work to be done - the ground floor situation (Image: Barrie Drewitt-Barlow) Mr Drewitt-Barlow has said he has no intention of selling the building, but he needs the authority to work with the team.

He said: “I will have no option but to keep the place closed down in the current state it is in, which is not a good state, it is getting worse and worse.

“It will remain empty and decaying until the planners work with us to get it put right”.

A Braintree Council spokesman said: “The plan for Ocean’s to bring a new restaurant to Braintree could be fantastic for the town, residents and the local economy.

"With it being a Grade II listed building and in a conservation area, consent is required for works beyond minor repairs, and as the local planning authority we have a duty to ensure that correct procedures are followed and the heritage asset is protected.

"Our planning team along with a heritage officer have been working proactively with the agent and owners for the former Swan Public House over the past few months to support them around planning considerations.

"Whilst advising whether works require an application for listed building consent, and more recently this advice has included works to the roof.

"We strongly discourage any alterations or works to a listed building without seeking advice or obtaining the required listed building consent to make sure parties are protected from committing a criminal offence.”