A family farm shop specialising in local produce could be forced out of business if it is not allowed to expand, according to owner Paul Reynolds.

The Allington Farm Shop, to the west of Chippenham off the A420, has been operating for 20 years.

About 18 months ago Mr Reynolds applied for planning permission to extend the shop to create a butchery, cold room and storage space, a disabled toilet and extra shop space.

But planning officers at North Wiltshire District Council have recommended refusing the plan on grounds that it would result in unrestricted retail development in the open countryside and the appearance of the building would spoil the rural setting.

But Mr Reynolds claims the extension is vital to the continuing success of the enterprise and warns he will have to shut up shop if the application is thrown out.

"We will probably have to close if this does not go ahead," he said.

"We haven't had an easy ride with the planning. We had to take the application to appeal when we first opened, and we won that.

"Some farm shops are set up in old stone barns and pretty buildings, but unfortunately we don't have that

option here. But we do want to tidy up the appearance of the shop, and at the moment we are having to throw away too much stuff because the building isn't suitable and we don't have enough storage."

The shop sells a variety of goods, including locally sourced meat and dairy products, with most of the meat coming from five local farms.

At Christmas the shop also sells home-grown Christmas trees and turkeys, and is the sole outlet for Farmhouse Kitchens goods, a bakery business operated by Mr Reynolds' daughter Emma Caddack.

It also sells 60 different cheeses, organic Jersey milk from Bath, fruit and vegetables, as well as fuel, sheds and log cabins.

"We try to source our goods locally as much as we can," said Mr Reynolds.

"Many people are very concerned about the origin of their food and we can tell people where the produce has come from."

He added: "The supermarkets have been allowed to double in size so why can't we?"

The Reynolds family also runs Allington Bar Farm, a 450-acre enterprise of mixed farming, including beef cattle, sheep and corn. The family first opened the shop to diversify but the impact of the foot and mouth disease outbreak nearly finished off the enterprise because people were frightened away from the countryside.

However business has rallied since then and Mr Reynolds said they catered for a growing portion of the population who wanted to know more about the source of their food.

The business employs three people full time and three part time and the shop is open 9am to 6pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 5pm Sundays, serving customers from Chippenham and the surrounding villages.

Customer Sylvia O'Leary said she visited the shop fortnightly, coming from Corsham to stock up. "I come here because the food is fresh and jolly good quality," she said. "Everybody here is super and they go out of their way to help you."

Chippenham Without Parish Council supports the application arguing it was reasonable to improve the provision and appearance of the site and suggested it would encourage local commerce and employment.

But planning officers said the expansion would amount to more than a 100 per cent increase in the footprint of the building, and a 200 per cent increase in the amount of shop space.

A report to the development control committee, which meets on Wednesday, said the farm shop did not only sell farm produce and included a stonemasonry enterprise and goods normally associated with a garden centre.

The planning authority would have no control over the future retail use of the site in the future and officers fear the buildings would not enhance the appearance of the rural area.