The man behind plans to open a farmers’ market on the edge of Canterbury is going to appeal the city council’s decision to refuse his application.

Nick Brown had hoped to create a “thriving destination for retail and leisure” at the former Bygones reclamation yard in Merton Lane, off Nackington Road.

But his £400,000 project has hit a big stumbling block after the council’s planning team criticised the scheme for its proposed “urbanisation of a rural area”.

Had it been given the go-ahead, indoor and outdoor trade stands in shipping containers would have been set up, along with a cafe for light lunches and breakfasts.

The refusal of the farmers’ market vision also puts the brakes on a plan to build a £5 million pie factory at an undisclosed location in Canterbury.

The envisaged processing plant - which was set to produce meat, vegetable and fruit pastries - was hoped to go hand-in-hand with the farmers’ market.

Mr Brown said: “The pie factory isn’t totally dependent on the market, but the refusal has a detrimental knock-on effect.

“Investors still want to go ahead with it but they do want to make sure they’ll have a farm shop that can promote the pie factory products.

“The market is meant to show this is a great area to sell local produce. And sadly the council has rejected it.

“We believe its refusal is unfair, and correct planning grounds haven’t been taken into account. So we’re going to appeal the decision.”

The council’s reasoning for the refusal has been put down to a number of factors, including the location.

An officer’s report states: “The proposed development, by virtue of its location, would result in the introduction of a retail use outside of any town centre, local centre or larger local village centre. The applicant has failed to adequately demonstrate there are no other more suitably located and available sites.

“The proposed change of use, together with the introduction of additional shipping containers and the urbanising intensification of the use of the site, would cause harm to the rural character of the area.”

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