THE owners of a garden centre which has operated near Newport for more than 100 years have been told to remove part of their business due to planning violations.

Sunnyside Nursery, in Langstone near Newport, has been run by the Halse family since 1908.

Four and a half years ago, current owner Anthony Halse and his wife Nicola expanded their business with the building of three cabins.

Until recently, the cabins housed two craft shops and a fruit and vegetable business.

However, the pair have now been contacted by Newport City Council and told that the cabins need to be removed on planning grounds.

The council have said that the owners "are fully aware of why they have been asked to remove the cabins".

"When we put them up, we weren’t aware we needed planning permission," Mr Halse said.

"So we set it all up and established ourselves.

"It was waste ground and that’s what the council want it back to.

"We think it complements the village."

The couple have now set up an online petition to reverse the council decision, it has garnered "thousands" of signatures to date.

"We can’t even use them for storage," Mr Halse said.

"They told us the countryside needs protecting. They said the cabins don’t tie in.

"It’s jobs going as well."

Ward councillor William Routley has backed the Halses, saying: "They’re trying to bring business and local employment here, but the planning system kicked the life out of this.

"We’re being told to shop local as well.

"The local community is also losing out on employment.

"They [Mr and Mrs Hulse] have been through objections after objections – not from the public mind you.

"We are angry. Watch this space. This isn’t the end."

A Newport City Council spokesperson said: "The owners are fully aware of why they have been asked to remove the cabins as they have been the subject of a number of planning applications as well as an unsuccessful appeal against decisions to refuse planning permission and an enforcement notice.

"Planning applications for a log cabin outbuilding and the retention of a single-storey workshop on the nurseries site in Chepstow Road were refused on more than one occasion in 2020.

"In 2021, an application was made seeking consent for the retention of three cabins and a storage/workshop on what is classed as an agricultural site in the countryside.

"Permission was refused for the three retail units on the grounds that they would have a significant adverse effect on sustainability and were not justified on this rural site.

"It was believed the proposal set an undesirable precedent for additional similar units/uses thereby resulting in a harmful proliferation of unjustified development.

"An appeal into the refusal of planning permission and the enforcement notice was dealt with by an independent inspector from Planning and Environment Decisions Wales.

"In the decision issued last month, the inspector found in favour of the council on all points: dismissing the appeal against the refusal of planning permission and upholding the enforcement notice."