@emilyhstott

A young entrepreneur has won her appeal and been granted planning permission for her business in Sandwich.

Leanne Wood, 18, of Wingham, started her second-hand clothes shop as an extension of the Delf Farm shop in Sandwich, which her family owns.

The teenager erected a log cabin outside the farm shop to house her business, Belle’s.

After being led to believe that planning permission would be granted, she started trading last year only to have permission refused, leaving her £5,000 out of pocket.

Miss Wood appealed, and appeared at a planning committee last Thursday, when she gave a heart-warming speech that won over the planning officers.

She said later: “The moment they said we had passed we all just went crazy. It was great.

“The farm shop is really happy about it.”

Miss Wood was told that permission was originally withheld because of issues to do with traffic along Dover Road, and because the cabin was not thought to be in keeping with the rest of the area.

She added: “The initial problem was they didn’t think I was related to the farm shop. So I explained the relationship between us.”

Miss Wood was also overjoyed to have the backing of Sandwich Town Council and the mayor, Cllr Bernard Butcher.

Speaking at the town council meeting on Monday night, the mayor called the successful appeal a “victory”.

He added: “I said to her that I hoped she would open a whole chain of these cabins, and she was very grateful for the kind words of this
town council.”

For the full story read this week's East Kent Mercury.