Eco-friendly farm shop and café planned for A57 junction

Plans for a carbon friendly farm shop, café and drive-thru service along with electric car charging services off the A57 have been submitted to West Lindsey District Council.

The application, from Furrowland Holdings Ltd, hopes to provide a suitable replacement to the last small “local” shop in the village of Newton on Trent after a bypass in the 1980s “resulted in the gradual closure of most the shops and the village pub”.

Documents submitted to the council said the owners of the current shop are planning to retire and intend to convert their own business into living accommodation – resulting in a loss of the shop and post office services.

Furrowland’s application said the planned build at a junction known as Newton Green – an intersection of the A1133 and the A57 – will enable it to be financially viable and maximise footfall.

It will provide the local farm shop and post office services, as well as a café/restaurant for travellers to rest at. It will also include play areas, along with pods to enable remote working.

An 84 space car park will include fast, charge, high power vehicle charging.

On top of this, the development will be “designed to minimise its impact on climate change”, said the applicants.

How the site would be laid out. | Image: Studio-G Associates

It includes insulation, a large array of solar panels on the roof to supply electricity – with any remaining needs coming from green energy suppliers -, the use of ground/air source heating technology and the use of recycled materials for construction.

“The electricity… will be 100% carbon free, produced either on site or locally by the applicant and therefore efficiently supplied with minimal losses within the national grid,” said the documents, adding it will add “significantly” to the electric charging infrastructure.

“The proposals provide a facility where several independent businesses could operate on a mutually supportive basis and its location would make those businesses readily available to a much broader customer base.

“It would therefore result in a resource that would help local businesses to succeed in a low carbon building that reinstates facilities that the community has lost over the years, thereby adding to the vibrancy and sustainability of the settlement.”