Sidmouth’s long-awaited Rockfish restaurant is set to open next year after legal setbacks were finally overcome. 

Plans to convert the derelict Drill Hall on the seafront will now go ahead, with Rockfish reportedly keen to move forward. 

In a social media post earlier this week, East Devon District Council’s deputy leader and portfolio holder for economy and assets, Paul Hayward, said: “Delighted to report that contracts have been exchanged and project is a goer. Great news for Sidmouth and locale. Rockfish keen to start work. Delays caused by 3rd parties. Roll on 2023 and the grand opening.” 

Planning permission for Rockfish was granted by East Devon District Council in February 2020 – shortly before the Covid pandemic began.  

In December 2021, rumours circulated about Rockfish having withdrawn its planning application, but owner Mitch Tonks quashed them, saying the project had simply been delayed by ‘a legal point and the backdrop of the pandemic’. 

The legal issue related to negotiations with the previous owners of the Drill Hall site and, with a settlement now reached, Sidmouth can now look forward to having the destination restaurant open next year. 

Mitch Tonks told the Herald: "Sidmouth is the quintessential English seaside town and the type of place we like to open a Rockfish seafood restaurant, we were delighted to have won the tender to be able to acquire the Drill Hall and restore this magnificent building and give it a new life that is relevant in today’s world.

"We are very excited about this opening and the possibilities of creating a wonderful seafood restaurant that celebrates the local fishing community and the wider Sidmouth community which we are very much looking forward to being part of.”