A businessman has been fighting a losing battle for eight years to convert Prince William’s former search and rescue helicopter into a unique seaside cafe.
Ben Stonehouse, 34, has invested thousands of pounds in his cafe idea, only to see it repeatedly rejected by planners as a potential eyesore.
But despite being declared bankrupt two years ago, due to an unrelated failed business deal, he has stubbornly refused to admit defeat and is still hoping to find a site for the Sea King that city hall bureaucrats deem acceptable.
Stonehouse bought three helicopters for £250,000 and spent four years restoring them with authentic instrument panels and rotor blades.
Their ‘cafe’ helicopter is currently one of two that have been converted into luxury glamping accommodation at a campsite near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.
Sea King
Between 2010 and 2013, the Prince of Wales carried out 156 search and rescue operations from the Anglesey base, resulting in 149 people rescued, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The first application to convert
A businessman has been fighting a losing battle for eight years to convert Prince William’s former search and rescue helicopter into a unique seaside cafe.

Ben Stonehouse invested thousands of pounds in the scheme only to see it repeatedly rejected by planners.

Their helicopter ‘café’ is currently one of two that have been converted into luxury glamping accommodation at a campsite near Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Stonehouse, pictured, bought three helicopters for £250,000 and spent four years restoring them.
Stonehouse paid thousands of pounds to have plans drawn up for a £2 million development that included eight holiday apartments, three penthouses, five two-bedroom rentals, three shops, two restaurants and the prince’s renovated helicopter as a rooftop cafe.
He said: ‘We had to put in holiday flats and restaurants. It was exactly what they asked for, except the helicopter was on the roof as a cafe and bar overlooking North Bay.
‘That was the only additional thing outside the scope of the tender and they did not accept it. Silly things like that have been constant for all the years I’ve been trying to do it and I’ve lost count.
“They kept rejecting him over and over again.”
Stonehouse said plans to place the helicopter cafe opposite the Grand Hotel in the seaside town and in a car park were roundly rejected.
“Some of them never made it to official planning applications because the council rejected them outright,” he said.
A crowdfunding page raised more than £1,200 for the cafe project before the plan was rejected.
Stonehouse added: “The crowdfunding money was spent on the helicopters. The money was offered back to people because it didn’t go ahead.
‘I repaid a guy £750 out of my own pocket because I wanted to do the right thing. A lot of people just told me to keep it.
‘It’s just frustrating. “I would like to see people enjoy a great piece of engineering and aviation history that deserves to be in the public eye.”
In 2021, it sought consent to convert the Sea King cafe and two other Sea Kings into glamping pods in a car park on the North York Moors, above the Hole of Horcum beauty spot.
There would also be six other camping pods and a amenities block, but this was rejected.
One of the reasons for rejection was “the incongruous shape and nature of the proposed helicopter structures, combined with the associated impact of clutter of paths, outside tables and fences.”

Sea King

In 2021, it sought consent to convert the Sea King cafe and two other Sea Kings into glamping pods in a car park on the North York Moors, above the Hole of Horcum beauty spot.

One of the reasons for rejection was “the incongruous shape and nature of the proposed helicopter structures, combined with the impact of the associated clutter of paths, outside tables and fences.”

A look at an artist’s impression of the helicopter cafe proposed for the North York Moors application
Ranger David Smith also objected: “Development, especially helicopters, may distract other road users and therefore create road safety issues.”
A nearby farm objected that the helicopters would be “unsightly” and “uncharacteristic” of the area.
It was feared the business would increase noise and litter, which would be dangerous for their livestock, and would cause drops in water pressure in a supply needed to feed their animals.
Chris France, director of planning for the North York Moors National Park, said the authority supported small-scale glamping pods.
‘But that form of development in a very prominent and open area and surrounded by beautiful moors was incongruous and eye-catching.
‘It’s not the kind of development people would expect to see in a protected landscape.
‘People come to the North York Moors to get away from the development they would see elsewhere. They want to be with nature and see open spaces.
“I was in the middle of the wasteland. It has a viewpoint that looks towards the Hole of Horcum. It’s an amazing geological feature that people come to see.
“They don’t want to turn around and see a bunch of helicopters like a cafe and a glamping site.”

It was feared the business would increase noise and litter, which would be dangerous for livestock, and would cause drops in water pressure in a supply needed to feed their animals.

Prince William and his crew take off for their first departure from the Mount Pleasant Resort in the Falkland Islands in 2012.
North Yorkshire Council, which replaced Scarborough Council, declined to comment on a landmark decision by the former authority.
According to company records, Stonehouse went bankrupt in December 2023 and the order was vacated a year later.
His dream of a helicopter cafe is still that, although he still hopes to find a place to install it.
One of the last remaining options in his hometown is to include the helicopter cafe in the renovation of the now almost empty and pigeon-infested Brunswick shopping center.
Whether planners agree that this is a suitable location for a helicopter is a different matter.