A popular garden centre will add a tearoom for customers to 'diversify' the business and offer more to customers visiting the venue. 

Braithwaite’s Garden Centre and Florist, based on Bedale Road in Leeming, submitted plans to change a staff room into a tearoom for customers in July this year. 

According to plans submitted at the time, "Mr Braithwaite would like to diversify his business by changing the existing staff facilities into a Tea Room.

"This would allow the business to grow and provide extra facilities for existing and new customers within the parameters of the established garden centre business."

Under the plans, the garden centre would provide drinks and snacks which would be served hot or cold.

These would consist of sandwiches, salads, sausage rolls, pies, cakes, ice creams, and lollies.

The application, which was approved on Tuesday (September 3), sought to change several things inside, including the layout to create a kitchen space and customer space, and another toilet, while also making it more accessible for wheelchairs and pushchairs.

A new path from the existing car park will also be included to support wheelchairs and disabled customers.

Approving the application on Tuesday, North Yorkshire Council's planning department said: "The proposal for the retail use within the existing business is acceptable in principle and complies with the relevant Local Plan policy in terms of design, amenity, biodiversity net gain, highways and is otherwise in accordance with local and national policy requirements."