A FARM shop which was on the ‘verge of closing’ could be rescued at the eleventh hour after a longrunning dispute with the council over the sale of festive items.

Hare Hatch Sheeplands Nursery in Twyford appealed to Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) to sell Christmas goods during the offseason to help the business of 25 years through the rough patch.

Owner Rob Scott claimed the planning application was rejected before it had been properly assessed and told the Chronicle the decision had brought the plant nursery ‘to its knees’.

Following a breakthrough in his dispute with the council, Mr Scott explained plans for the annual Christmas Food Festival could finally take shape after he sought legal advice.

He said: “It looked like being a miserable Christmas because of the council’s bizarre decision not to even consider our planning application.

“It was an application that was perfectly straightforward and I could think of no reason why the council would not deal with it in the usual way.

“The legal expert saw no reason why I could not sell items such as Christmas trees from the car park.

He had no doubt this was totally legal within the planning consents I already had.

“It is the best Christmas present I have had for a long while.”

The shop had to make 30 employees redundant during this process and Mr Scott feels the decision was ‘personal’ and ‘vindictive.’

An application was submitted to WBC on September 26 to temporarily sell Christmas items during the off-season, with the owner fearing ‘personal bankruptcy’.

WBC refused to comment.