The owner of a popular farm shop in Berkshire has finally won permission to realise his dreams after hundreds of shoppers showed their support for his business.

Rob Scott, the owner of Hare Hatch Sheeplands, had applied to demolish existing greenhouses and replace them with a new garden centre building, a cafe and an expanded car park.

Hare Hatch currently serves as a farm shop and plant nursery, but for years Mr Scott has wanted to redevelop it into a fully fledged garden centre. A regular customer of Sheeplands said redevelopment of the site would be a “unique proposition which doesn’t exist anywhere else in the borough.”

Mr Scott has had long disputes with the planning department at Wokingham Borough Council, with him receiving a suspended jail sentence for allowing other businesses to operate unlawfully at Sheeplands in 2017, but winning a case at the Royal Courts of Justice in 2019 where the judge ruled that action the council had taken against him was flawed.

READ MORE: Hare Hatch Sheeplands owner gets payout from Wokingham Borough Council

Marco Bear, representing Sheeplands customers, said: “This is an opportunity to look forward. It is an opportunity to turn what has been a long period of negativity and dispute, into something that is positive for everyone.

“The long running disagreements have been costly, disruptive and frustrating for all concerned.

“This is an opportunity to  draw a line under the past and work collaboratively to create something that as a community and a council we could all be proud of.”

The scheme was discussed at a Wokingham Borough Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday, March 9.

Allison Jones, Mr Scott’s planning agent, pointed out that 381 people commented in support of the application, including Theresa May, former PM and Conservative MP for Maidenhead.

She said: “What really matters here is that the local community want these proposals which will provide a solid basis for Hare Hatch Sheeplands and the council to move forward in a positive and stable way.”

Despite that level of support, council planning officer Simon Taylor recommended that the plan be refused, arguing that development of the site would be in an inappropriate encroachment on the Green Belt, which can only be built on in very special circumstances.

READ MORE: Wokingham Borough Council fails to get costs in woodland planning dispute

Mr Taylor also argued that it should be refused due to more intense activity at the site due to it being used for retail, and a lack of an employment skills plan being submitted.

But the majority of the committee went against the recommendation, with councillor Stephen Conway (Liberal Democrats, Twyford) proposing an alternative motion to approve the application, which was seconded cllr Gary Cowan (Independent, Arborfield).

Cllr Angus Ross (Conservative, Wokingham Without), the vice-chairman of the committee, proposed deferring a decision to examine evidence that planning agents had submitted just two days before the meeting, however, he dropped his suggestion, as he made it after cllr Conway’s motion to approve.

In a vote, almost all councillors voted for approval, with only cllr Ross abstaining.

Voicing support, cllr Bill Soanne (Conservative, Loddon) said: “It’s a community asset, it’s something the residents have asked for, it houses many other things, it does a lot of charity works, and I think it can be a community asset.”

Last August, the committee approved a plan to continue extend business and events activity on the site until March 2023.

It is understood that that plan has been superseded by the most recent approval.

You can view the approved application by typing reference 214108 into the council’s planning portal here: https://planning.wokingham.gov.uk/FastWebPL/welcome.asp