Brewery bosses have revealed grand plans to roll out an array of market stalls outside to emulate the success of a tourism hot spot.

Owners of Canterbury’s Foundry microbrewery unveiled proposals for 11 shacks and four shipping containers opposite the pub in a vacant car park.

Head brewer Jon Mills, who co-owns the Stour Street pub with wife Jodie, hopes the move will attract traders and replicate Folkestone Harbour Arm’s vibrant buzz.

Mr Mills told how the plans could help expand his eight-month-old mushroom-growing ambition, whereby he utilises waste grain from the brewery and distillery, then serves different varieties in the restaurant.

He said: “We came up with the idea for a market similar to what you see in London at Camden or the Harbour Arm in Folkestone.

“That’s the concept, just on a smaller scale.

“This could be an entry point for real Kent producers into the city, offering a potential incubator for their businesses to grow and maybe expand into something bigger in Canterbury.”

If the scheme goes to plan, the duo will use the shipping crates for their funghi endeavours, whereby two will be refrigerated to help optimise conditions for the Blue Oyster, Black Pearl and Lions Mane varieties, among others.

With the expansion plans, the pair hope to increase production and sell them raw and hot, alongside their self-produced beer, whiskey, and gin, from two stalls.

Nine kiosks would be available to local independent producers, an opportunity Jon hopes will give businesses a chance to get on the first step of the ladder.

He added: “We are growing six kilos a week from our waste to serve mushrooms in our restaurant, but we’re not using all our waste by any stretch. We’ve just proved that it can be done.

“We’d love to expand and utilise all our waste and grow essentially luxury mushrooms.

“While also enabling us to utilise all our waste grain, and afterwards, it still gets picked up by a farmer, and where it’s full of mushroom roots, it’s actually improved to be a superfood for pigs.

“We just thought about what an opportunity this is if we can grow more mushrooms, sell them directly to the public, and serve more in our restaurant.

“If we could get a retail outlet, that’s extra income for us as we attract an enormous number of tourists, but they don’t necessarily know they can buy a bottle of gin to take home.

“We’re multi-award winning, but I still think we are a bit of a secret, to be honest.

“It’ll be great to get that out to people and offer a retail experience.”

He says using all their waste to grow mushrooms could increase production to 100 kilos a week.

Under the plans, toilets will be provided at the market, and disabled customers could use the facilities inside the venue.

In the design and access statement submitted by Clague Architects on behalf of the applicant, they added: “This market will provide a much-needed meeting venue for the people of Canterbury.

“It will provide them with somewhere to meet friends and socialise in a more refreshing and modern environment.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

Earlier this year, The Foundry received two national honours at the 2024 World Whiskies Awards.

Their Streetlight Single Malt won gold in the England cask single grain category, while their Capstan Single Malt picked up gold in the England new make and young spirit category.

No objections have been raised against the application.

A decision is expected to be made by Canterbury City Council in the new year.