A new farm shop and café is planned in Deeping St Nicholas.
Vine House Farm owner Nicholas Watts is keen to invest £500,000 and take on more staff to make the business bigger and better.
A keen conservationist, Mr Watts has sold goods including bird food and farm products from the premises for more than a decade. Business has steadily increased to a point where he wants to offer a wider range of products.
He said: “We’re wanting to expand a bit and add a café because people want a cup of tea when they come.”
The proposal is a new steel frame building with a mixture of corrugated steel cladding to the walls and roofs and timber cladding to feature walls around the entrance and café. A decked area would offer additional outdoor seating.
If the plans, which include a new car park and access, are passed by South Holland District Council, Mr Watts would add to the current staff of four, which includes his daughter and farm shop manager Lucy Taylor.
In a statement accompanying the planning application, Ryland Design Services says: “The company are looking to grow and would like to invest in a new building that would allow them to expand and provide a greater range of bird foods and accessories to keep up with market demand whilst complimenting this with a larger range of locally sourced and home grown foods. They would also look to increase their own vegetable growth and production for sale in the shop.”
It adds: “It is our client’s vision to show case their passion for wild life and locally sourced food and for the new building to become a destination for wild life lovers which offers a great range of bird food, locally produced food and accessories.”
Mr Watts said, if planning permission is granted, construction would start fairly soon with an anticipated opening towards the end of the year. The current farm shop would convert to office space.
