A DEFIANT garden centre boss will continue to run his business as normal despite being told he is trading illegally by council officials.

St John’s Plant Centre, in Earls Hall Drive, Clacton, insists it is not breaking any laws by trading as a retail garden centre and hosting a Christmas Wonderland attraction.

Tendring Council served an enforcement notice last month, ordering the business to cease its retail sales and demanding it stop hosting its festive event.

Last year, the council made a failed application for a High Court injunction to shut the event down due to traffic “chaos”.

Tom Bowden, of St John’s Plant Centre, said despite trying to work with the council on addressing highways concerns, a decision over a planning application to widen the access road is stalling pending an appeal.

He said: “This planning application could have been sorted out and the road built by now. We want to widen the access road.

“We also have a statutory right to sell ten per cent of our stock as retail and that is exactly what we do.

“It is up to them to fight us in this situation.

“In the spring season, we are as busy as we are in the Christmas season.

“All year round we are creating jobs, keeping people employed.”

The garden centre bosses confirmed about £20,000 was spent fighting the council’s application last year and said staff remain fearful for their futures.

The Christmas Wonderland has been run for the past five years at the 26-acre garden centre, but recently saw a surge in popularity.

He said: “We just have to carry on, we can’t do much about it because it is down to the council to do what it should do.

“We feel like they get knocked back and just keep returning to try and shut us down.

“Clacton needs something like this, there is nothing that can replicate what we have here.

“We became too successful, but you can’t stop a business growing.

“We will be appealing the decision.

“The support we have had from the community has been really encouraging.”

Tendring Council has acknowledged its decision over the highways plan was delayed, but said the business’s scheme did not go far enough to solve the problems.

A spokesman said the application made no provision to improve a troublesome junction at the end of the unadopted road and did not seek to widen the road sufficiently.

The notice comes into force in two weeks’ time, after which the nursery has six weeks to cease its retail trade.

Fred Nicholls, councillor responsible for corporate enforcement, previously said: “We understand that the attraction is popular and we do not want to spoil people’s fun, but it is not fair on other businesses which work hard to comply with planning law.”