A new fruit and veg stall will soon open outside a church bringing more healthy options to the town centre.

The plan for Deal High Street was granted permission at a council meeting and will be located outside the front of St George's Church.

The plan received 14 objections, mostly citing its busy location and competition with two nearby grocers.

Clarifying her proposal Jennie Bartram said: “We've lived in the area for 23 years and we have a flower shop at the end of St George’s Street.

“My husband opened a fruit shop in Canterbury and we had a little shop in Whitefriars.

“We’ve looked for the smallest gazebo as we knew we would get people that wouldn’t like it”.

The gazebo permitted is 2.5x2.5m and will sell produce from Wednesday to Saturday between the hours of 8.30am and 4pm.

It will also be seasonal, only trading between May to September when it eventually opens.

Cllr Pamela Brivio said that Deal High Street “isn’t terribly wide" and has concerns about the street when it gets busy.

The site is next to a bike rack and could potentially block the church notice board but this isn't a problem raised by the clergy.

She said: “We spoke to a gentleman from the church and he thought it was a fantastic idea.

“We would stick within that size (allowed). It’s literally one table and two ends.”

Competition in the area comes in the form of Sainsbury's, Aldi, several independent grocers and a Saturday Market.

Despite this Mrs Bartram has spoken to some of the grocers in question and believes she can offer something new to the Deal community.

She said: "My husband knows both grocers and neither of these two have made objections to the fruit stall.

"We buy local and it’s all about customer care, we sell at reasonable prices.

"Not everyone has £3 to spend on a pallet of strawberries. One lady came into our shop when we first opened and said that somewhere was selling a lettuce for £3.50 and nearly fainted.

"We just want to sell local fruit and vegetables."

Read more: All the latest news from Deal