A year-long dispute between Thanet District Council and the owners of the Petticoat Lane Emporium in Ramsgate has come to an end.

Owner of the emporium Kevin Shaw says the council have been trying to close down his business ever since they opened.

The council issued an enforcement notice, asking the business to leave the premises, in May 2015.

Mr Shaw, who runs the emporium along with business partner Richard Tozer, says he was in contact with the council in November 2014 to notify them he would start trading in the Dumpton Park Drive building in February 2015.

The 54-year-old said: “I was phoned by the council’s planning enforcement officer in December 2014 who said he had seen advertisements of what we were doing in the building and that we couldn’t do it because we had no planning permission.

“I had checked with the council about planning and they had no records of it for more than 50 years but I explained to the officer that legislation made in 2013 meant I didn’t have to obtain planning permission to change the use of the building for two years.

“He said he would check this and get back to me if he needed to.”

Mr Shaw says he heard nothing from the council, completed the work inside the building and had employed 20 staff from the area and more than 175 traders ready to open on February 14.

After six weeks of trading he received his first piece of correspondence from the council in the form of an enforcement notice stating he must close down within four weeks.

Mr Shaw said: “I approached the planning team to say I could meet anywhere at any time to try and sort this but the council point blank refused to meet me.”

After a year-long dispute the case was taken to The Planning Inspectorate who have ruled in favour of Mr Shaw, saying the enforcement notice “has been quashed”.

He has now been granted planning permission to carry on with his business.

Mr Shaw said: “This is fantastic news because it has secured 20 jobs for local people, income for more than 200 independent traders, and a £1m turnover for Thanet’s economy.

“I am trying to benefit the town not detract from it.

“The business has been run on death row for almost all of its life so far.

“I don’t understand why the council have been trying to shut down the business."

“I don’t understand why the council have been trying to shut down the business...” Owner Kevin Shaw

Thanet District Council spokesman Hannah Thorpe said: “The Emporium initially began trading without planning permission and there was also a pending planning application for residential development of the site.

“On this basis the council issued an enforcement notice on May 20, 2015.

“Part of the council’s considerations were the retail impact, as retail is generally restricted to town centres under local and national policy in order to protect the viability of the town centres and also the impact on highway safety.

"This was referred to KCC Highways for their comments. KCC Highways initially objected, but later withdrew their objection.

“The owners then appealed against the enforcement notice and this was taken to the Planning Inspectorate who upheld the appeal. The decision was made by the Planning Inspectorate on February 17, 2016.

“The Emporium is therefore continuing to trade in this location as this decision meant that the enforcement notice was quashed.”