A NORTH Somerset food hall is gearing up for a ‘Christmas sales surge’. Earlier this year, the unitary authority removed a condition on Puxton Park’s planning permission so that customers can go to the shop there without paying to go into the main attraction. Bosses at the Mead Group, which runs the site, say they are now trying to find ways to attract customers eager to find local food and drink bargains for the festive season.
Puxton Park, a tourist attraction built around a working organic farm, opened last year just off the M5 near Weston. The food hall features dozens of lines of local produce, as well as a butchery outlet run by Exmoor-based Gerald David and Family. One of the stumbling blocks to building up the business was the fact that the planning conditions did not allow direct access to it by the general public.
Earlier this year North Somerset Council relented and declared the shop can trade with the general public. Centre manager Jon O’Mara said: “The intention was for the two elements, the farm park and the food hall, to be complementary. “Essentially, the project was pitched at two distinct markets, people looking for a family day out, and consumers, either locals or visitors, looking for the chance to stock up on local food and drink without having to do a tour of five or six different shops.
“Happily, the council has now accepted the rationale behind the project and we are particularly delighted that the decision has come in time for us to gear up for what looks like being an extremely busy Christmas.