There are fears for a popular farmgate shop on the outskirts of Ballarat.
The shop at Smythes Creek started life as the Mushroom Farm but morphed into its current format to support growers and producers during COVID.
The shop’s co-owner Monique Lunn says the Golden Plains Shire now won’t give them a retrospective permit to operate because they are in a residential area.
“We were told that is was just pretty much a formality.”
“We were going to have to go through a change of use permit and that we had retrospective approval to operate while going through the process.”
“Since staff have changed over at Golden Plains Shire it has just been a battle,” Ms. Lunn said.
Monique and Tanya Lunn are now weighing up whether to continue to battle council through an expensive VCAT appeal or relocate to the Ballarat municipality.
A Go Fund Me has been set up to support the fight to save the shop.
