Alder Carr Farm Shop has received retrospective permission for additional car parking and a refrigerated container.
Mid Suffolk Council planning committee voted unanimously in favour of the application, with environmental conditions including further noise checks to be carried out.
The family-run farm shop, which was recently named the best small farm shop of the year at the Farm Retail Association Awards, was seeking permission for a grass area of parking for 20 cars and three cooling units and a refrigerated container linked to the site’s butchery.
Stephany Hardingham, who runs the farm shop with her husband, said: “Over the years market conditions and shopping habits have changed significantly with online shopping and supermarkets. In order to survive, we’ve had to continually innovate and adapt by opening the farm shop café, converting and renting other units on site, and making the ice cream.
“We now employ over 40 people and support over 120 local suppliers.
“We opened the butchery so we could offer our customers locally sourced meat, some of which comes from the farm.”
Six other containers on site are part of ongoing enforcement action, though this was not part of the proposal put before the planning committee this week.
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