Plans for extension to Greenhouse café near Montgomery
A café that is run alongside a horticultural business near Montgomery could continue to grow after plans for a kitchen extension were given the thumbs up by Powys planners.
Earlier this year, Marcus King of King's Nurseries at Garthmyl lodged a planning application with Powys County Council to extend the kitchen at the Greenhouse café onto the car park.
The café was opened in 2022, has an area of 271 square metres, and the extension would provide a further 40 square metres to the building.
Planning agent Frederick Carter explained the café, which was originally constructed for visitors to the nursery in 2022, has become successful in its own right.
Mr Carter said: 'The growth of the business and its ethos to provide locally sourced quality ingredients has led to more in-house production of food, including baked goods. It is for this reason the café requires an extension to meet the demands of this growing enterprise.'
The proposals would be built on an existing area designated for parking north of the café.
Part of the original concern with the café plans going back to the original application in 2020 is that the site is in a flood zone near Llifior Brook.
Mr Carter said: 'As the café extension will be sited in an area with potential to flood it will be raised up to protect the structure, with attenuation storage held for use by the nursery for plant watering more than accommodating the volume of water displaced by the development.'
Mr Carter added: 'The business has grown substantially and this additional growth will support the existing business allowing for increased development and diversity for the site with the potential to grow the local economy by providing additional employment for the area.'
Berriew Community Council discussed the proposal at a meeting in April and supported it.
Planning officer Natalie Hinds said: 'A Flood Consequence Assessment (FCA) has been submitted and reviewed by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
'The design and access statement confirms that the structure will be raised, in line with NRW's assumption that the finished floor levels will match those of the existing café.
'As such, no objection has been made, and the development is considered to be acceptable.'
'It considered that the proposed development does fundamentally comply with relevant planning policy.
'The recommendation is one of conditional consent.'
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