Plans for farm shop and wine store near Norwich blocked

South Norfolk Council officials have rejected an application for the new facilities at Sveinns Hamlet Winery and Vineyard, in Swainsthorpe.

Vineyard owner Simon Cruickshank applied to build an eco-friendly shop on some of his land, just south of Norwich, earlier this year.

While the grape vines were only planted five years ago, the vineyard is growing quickly, with the wine produced from last year's crop proving popular.

The vineyard is in the outskirts of Norwich (Image: Newsquest) "People have shown a lot of interest so we thought it would be great for them to have a place on-site to enjoy a glass of wine and maybe buy a bottle or two," he explained.

The plans would have seen the shop and sampling area built, offering produce from the farm.

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It would also be a rest area for site workers, with toilets and a resting area inside for those who work in the vineyard.

The farm shop and wine store would have been built in the land behind the vineyard (Image: South Norfolk District Council) But officials from South Norfolk Council said: "The application requires the development to be carried out on agricultural land and the site is currently being used as a caravan site.

"Whilst a farm shop selling items produced from the agricultural unit could be acceptable, insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that 90pc of all items for sale are grown and produced within the agricultural unit, and details that have been provided are insufficiently evidenced."