ONE of the area's top chefs is planning a major investment in a high quality new 'green' cafe he believes will boost tourism and provide jobs.

Despite the recession, he and his backers are ready to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on the 'beautiful' project at Shaldon.

Tim Bouget, of the up market Ode restaurant in the village, wants to develop and extend the rundown former stables at the nearby Ness, and declared: 'We have confidence in the future of the Teignmouth and Shaldon area.

'Despite the economic downturn, people still want to eat out on quality food. It is a very difficult market at the moment, but this is a calculated risk, and we think it will be a terrific attraction for the whole area, bringing in both holidaymakers and locals all the year around.'

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