A popular farm shop near Glastonbury is set to expand its car park after Somerset Council approved plans to ease traffic pressure on narrow rural roads.

Middlewick Farm Shop and Café, on Wick Lane to the east of the town, will add 11 new parking spaces and two motorcycle bays to its existing 19-space facility. The move follows complaints about cars parking on nearby verges during peak trading times.

The Barker family, who run the shop and adjacent holiday cottages, submitted the application before Christmas. Construction is expected to begin within weeks, and the venue will remain open throughout the work.

The expansion will include new trees and hedgerows to improve biodiversity. The site already offers accessible parking and cycle bays closer to the shop entrance.

In a statement, planning agents Orme Architecture said the works would "support the long-term viability of a rural business, improve customer safety and respect the rural character through sensitive design."

Glastonbury councillor Ewan Cameron backed the move, calling Middlewick a "very popular farm shop" with high volumes of visitors, and said the new layout "makes access to the site safer."

The decision was made under delegated officer powers, rather than going before Somerset Council's planning committee.

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Reporting: Daniel Mumby/LDRS