Concern over village café expansion plan in Marden

Plans to expand a Herefordshire village store, café and post office have not gone down well locally.

Marden Village Stores north of Hereford, now trading as Farmer John’s, is seeking planning permission to add a new single-storey rear extension to house staff facilities, an enlarged kitchen and storerooms.

This would effectively extend an existing extension to the building, approved in 2021, and would match it in a finish of metal composite panels, the shop’s application says.

Submitted plans also show two new wood-fired ovens being added to the front of the shop.

But Marden Parish Council has objected to what it called the over-development of the site as well as its likely impact on neighbours.

“Limited parking on-site is already causing a major problem [which] any expansion will exacerbate as many cars have to park on a rural road,” it added.

Herefordshire Council’s transport engineer Jill Tookey-Williams said she had “no objection to the principle of development, however the number of car park spaces needs to be assessed to make sure that the proposed development meets council requirements”.

Marden Village Stores opened a café, which extends onto a covered outdoor area at the front of the shop, in June last year.

It had earlier secured a drinks licence, on condition that these must be by table service and consumed with food from the café kitchen.

A decision on the current planning application is due this month.