Farmer's shop plan given green light

Rob White made a successful appeal against a decision to reject planning permission for the scheme by Barnsley Council, which was made after residents complained too many vehicles would be travelling to the site.

Now the shop on Genn Lane, Ward Green, is set to open - allowing the family-run farm to sell its own produce including eggs, meat and vegetables, as well as cooked goods and ready meals.

Rob, aged 32, of Rob Royd Lane, Ward Green, said: "It's fantastic, I can't wait for it to open and I know lots of other people can't wait for it to open either. I'm looking forward to offering quality produce. Obviously we're going to start small, then increase."

A number of nearby residents first voiced opposition to the plan in 2005, fearing it would increase traffic problems, with 19 people making objections. Protesters also claimed the development would harm the green belt.

They were disappointed about the result of the appeal.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said: "When I've walked down the road, cars have been going so fast and so close that they've touched us. We just feel as though nobody's listened to what we've said."

Coun Malcolm Price, who represents Kingstone on Barnsley Council, said the successful appeal meant the shop would effectively be a bakery.

He said: "I'm not happy and neither are the residents. What's farm-baked produce? He'll be able to bake anything. What we've virtually got now is a bakery built on green belt land."

But another resident, Jane Huxley, aged 59, said she approved of the shop because it helped breathe new life into the countryside.

"We've got to move forward, not backwards and we've lost a lot of farm shops recently," she said.