A SMALLHOLDING near Bishop's Castle wants to have a new building to serve refreshments and sell items that are produced there. 

Quarry Lodge, situated in Norbury, has submitted a planning application to Shropshire Council. 

In a planning statement, the company says it opened its first pumpkin patch to the pumpkin patch 2022, and this year extended its open weekends with a dahlia field with sparkling wine being sold.

"In 2024 we will be continuing with the dahlia field and pumpkin patch, extending our open weekends into July and offering ‘pick by appointment’ for flowers on a selection of weekdays," reads the statement.

"This is the most efficient way to use our time, a two-hour period where they can come pick flowers and have pre-selected refreshments (no waste).

"This also limits the number of people that can pick at a time, we want everyone to have a relaxed experience and we can monitor picking.

"The marquee was a sensible starting point, we could see if people came and liked our ethos, and we gained experience of how opening our smallholding to the public worked and acknowledge changes and improvements that could be made.

"The marquee is the one area we have struggled with. Hot days, cold days, condensation, wind – strapping it down to a vehicle. We did well to keep the wet out but as the water table rose in October this year it found its way in from underneath.

"Time efficiency is really important as we’re doing everything ourselves, setting up and taking everything down because of moisture in the air and security is massive undertaking at each end of the day.

"The proposed building will be a great improvement, a sound structure lifted off the ground with sleepers. We can leave everything safely set up and lock the door.

"When it’s not in use during the winter months it will be used for storing dahlia tubers and produce. We have left the dahlias in the ground this year as we don’t have anywhere to store them.

"For 2024, we have invested in cutting dahlia tubers from Holland, these will need to be lifted and stored in a frost-free building for the winter. The building will be used all year round for the event albeit not open all year round."