Garden centre bosses will no longer be able to offer caravan storage on part of the site after a planning appeal was rejected because of the facility’s impact on the countryside.

Roy Chandler and Celia Hanks, who run Gardeners Paradise in Stodmarsh, near Canterbury , were forced to apply retrospectively to continue operating the business venture after concerns were raised with the city council.

The couple claimed the extra income from the facility was vital to keep the garden centre open, and that they were providing a much-needed service for caravan and motor home owners, with minimal impact on the surroundings.

But their bid for three more years of operation was turned down by the authority on the grounds it was unjustified loss of agricultural land, urbanisation of the rural area and in conflict with the council’s Local Plan.

Undeterred, the couple appealed to the Planning Inspectorate and called on customers and local residents to support their application.

Miss Hanks said at the time: “The income from the caravan storage is ensuring we can pay our staff and improve the premises while we once again become a profitable company.

“Storage for caravans in east Kent is very limited and we feel we provide a great local service with minimal negative impact and have a lot of support for.”

"We thought the city council was supposed to be supporting local businesses but this has left us up the creek without a paddle..."

But planning inspector Ian Harrison has now dismissed the couple’s appeal.

He said their offer to install additional screening around the caravans, “would not wholly avoid the sprawl of caravans having an effect on the rural character of the locality”.

"Whilst the visual effect of the use of the land for the storage of caravans is localised, from where it can be seen it causes significant harm to the rural character of the site and the surrounding area, which I afford significant weight.”

He added that the use of the land for caravan storage also breached the Local Plan and was contrary to National Planning Policy Framework.

Miss Hanks says they are bitterly disappointed by the inspector’s decision and are now writing to about 70 caravan owners telling them they will need to find alternative sites.

"We don’t know how long we’ve got because we haven’t received the enforcement notice yet," she said.

"We thought the city council was supposed to be supporting local businesses but this has left us up the creek without a paddle and could threaten the future of the garden centre."

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