The Devon family behind a food education and distribution firm have taken their bid to create a new centre to appeal after it was blocked by local planners.
Goosemoor wanted to develop a site that would have provided a classroom where children could learn about the provenance of their food and cook meals, as well as open space where crops would have been grown to provide ingredients.
But the majority of the site would have been dedicated to a food distribution centre that serves its school meals business, something that East Devon District Council’s planning committee disliked.
Goosemoor said the site would have created around 100 full-time jobs, but fears around potential noise and traffic tilted the balance, with seven members voting to block the plans and five voting for it at a planning meeting in October.
Now, the family behind the business has lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, which will decide whether to uphold the refusal or opt to overturn it and grant permission for the site in Lympstone.
Back in October, planners debated the economic merits of the scheme against the potential harm the development could have due to its location in open countryside and within a coastal preservation area.
Supporters of the scheme, which included members of the family behind the business, emphasised the potential economic benefit of employment, the importance of the so-called ‘educatering’ aspect, and the holistic benefits that nutritious meals can bring to education by helping children concentrate in lessons.
But opponents raised fears about the impact on the rural location, and highlighted concerns about the 24-hour nature of the distribution centre, and the potential for increased noise and traffic movements.
At the time, Jamie Walsh, the founder and director of Goosemoor Educatering, said the family were “devastated” by the decision to block the plans, because the family had been in the area since 1957 and had been growing the business over that time.
He said their current home near Dart’s Farm was not big enough to handle the company’s growth, meaning it had been looking for another site in East Devon.
The planning appeal was lodged at the beginning of March and so does not yet have a confirmed date for when the Planning Inspectorate will review the scheme.
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