A GARDEN centre which defied council bosses by running a Christmas wonderland event without permission has closed its doors after the company running it went into liquidation.

St John's Plant Centre, in Earls Hall Drive, Clacton, is currently closed to the public, while records show liquidator Mark Reynolds, at Valentine and Co has been appointed.

The centre had courted controversy over recent years due to its wildly popular Christmas wonderland attraction.

Tendring Council served an enforcement notice in September 2018, ordering the business to cease its retail sales and demanding it stop hosting its festive event.

in 2017, the council made a failed application to the High Court for an injunction to shut the event down due to the "traffic chaos" it caused.

Bosses continued with the event regardless, and last year thousands of visitors flocked to the wonderland from across Essex.

But now a petition to wind up the company was presented by HM Revenue and Customs on November 19.

The closure of the garden centre comes after plans to build 210 homes and eight live-work units on the site were announced.

The landowners submitted an application to the council which includes no provision for a garden centre.

More than a dozen objections to the scheme have already been submitted to the council.

Roger Lord, of Earls Hall Drive, said: "The main concern I have with this application is the traffic along St Johns Road.

"Over the last few years the traffic has really increased, with queues often forming at the junction with Jaywick Lane, even when the Winter Wonderland is not open for business.

"This is before the estates, which already have planning permission are even built.

"Before any more housing estates are given planning permission to the west of Jaywick Lane there must be a new link road from there to the A133."

Tendring Council will have the final say on the plans.