THE latest skirmish in the Dunster ‘char wars’ saga is set to be played out in dramatic style tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon.

Angry villagers opposed to National Trust plans for a tearoom at Dunster Castle are holding a Mad Hatters Tea Party.

A procession will start at 3pm in Dunster High Street which will be led by Alice and the Mad Hatter and feature the Tone Valley Jazz Band along with protesters giving out home-made cakes.

It will continue up to the castle where a petition with 9,500 signatures will be presented to a National Trust representative.

As well as the villagers and tradespeople, a number of local councillors will be present along with the West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger.

Dunster Action Group, a coalition of shop owners, fears that high street trade could be badly hit by the cafe.

A spokesperson for the group said this week: “What appears to be fairly innocuous will, in fact, have an economic impact on the adjoining village that will be utterly devastating.

“Fourteen businesses will see two-thirds of their turnover disappear 100 yards away from the village to inside the castle grounds.”

The National Trust commissioned research in a bid to assess the economic impact of its plans.

Following that research the trust said: “The research shows that visitors to the castle explore the village and will continue to explore the village even if we do have a cafe.

“Well over 80% of castle visitors go to the village and this will continue if an on-site cafe is provided.

“We will compete with other food outlets – as they already compete with each other – we are simply providing another choice.”