A crowd of well wishers gathered outside Wokingham Borough Council offices with placards and banners reading 'Save our Sheeplands' yesterday to show their support for Hare Hatch Sheeplands garden centre, which could be facing closure.
A planning inquiry into the garden centre is currently underway as council officers investigate allegations of illegal expansion following the centre's conversion of disused greenhouses into shops.

Progress on the inquiry has been delayed temporarily, however, as planning inspector Nicholas Freeman decided to postpone a decision until October due to a key council witness being unwell. It came despite the garden centre owner’s barrister Michael Rudd arguing that adjourning the case could cause damaging uncertainty for the business. More than 100 jobs are on the line while the garden centre's future hangs in the balance.

During the proceedings, Mr Freeman reportedly had to pause to rebuke hecklers.

Speaking after the hearing, the garden centre's owner Rob Scott described the decision to adjourn the ruling as "another hammer blow to Sheeplands", adding in a statement: "This is devastating news and the latest delay in a 10 year long saga. 10 years ago is when we first put in a planning application for changes we wanted to make and for a variety of reasons that and subsequent planning applications have never been put before the council's planning committee by its officials.

"We fear that the postponement will have a detrimental impact on the morale of our loyal and hardworking employees and business associates. We are also concerned that we cannot get access to the funds we require from banks and other lenders to keep investing for the future.

"The continued uncertainty hanging over the business feels like it's strangling us."

The row over the garden centre's planning issues erupted last autumn, when the council issued an enforcement notice for 16 breaches of planning permission relating to the garden centre's tenfold expansion on greenbelt land. The garden centre was given 18 months to rectify the breaches.

According to reports, Mr Scott offered to demolish some of the buildings in question, but negotiations between the garden centre and the council have since broken down.