A shopkeeper has blamed the construction of a neighbouring housing estate for the closure of a beloved farm store after almost two decades.

Joanna Miles had worked at Broad Oak Farm Shop in Sturry, near Canterbury, since it opened in 2006, and believes the works associated with the nearby Woodlands development contributed to its demise.

Ms Miles says customers were put off by long-running roadworks needed for the site, which will host 465 homes once complete.

“It stopped people coming to the shop and they decided to go somewhere else instead and they never came back,” she said.

“I used to have people coming in saying it’s taken them over an hour to get here from the other side of Canterbury, and there’s more to life than sitting in traffic.”

The business was founded by the Laslett family to reduce food miles by selling fruit and vegetables from their farm in Ash directly to the public.

As the firm expanded, its stock grew to include eggs, jams, flowers and Christmas trees. The shop then moved to a corrugated tin-roof structure on Herne Bay Road.

But Ms Miles says that in recent years the store has experienced a decrease in footfall.

She goes on: “It became demoralising for the boss and his brothers.

“They work so hard, pulling up spuds and cauliflowers, and then it just hadn’t been selling.”

Then in August, a six-week road closure between Sturry Court Mews and Popes Lane saw customer numbers cut in half.

The stretch of road was shut off while utilities were connected up to the Woodlands development.

At the time, misleading signage was blamed for confusing potential customers who believed they could not access the farm shop, as well as a nearby butchers and hairdressers.

Ms Miles says the work drastically cut trade, with about 50 to 60 people a day coming in instead of the usual 130 to 140.

The farm shop struggled to bounce back and closed on Christmas Eve.

A resident shared a picture of the store being cleared out days later on Facebook, adding: “Sad day, farm shop being emptied. You will all be missed, such a shame.”

One person added: “It’s the end of an era, I remember it when just a cart in the hedgerow at the top of Sturry Hill.”

Dozens of five-star reviews on Google show how the shop had became a routine part of life for many on the outskirts of Canterbury.

One person wrote: “I've used this farm shop for around 15 years or so now, travelling from Hersden to do so.

“The staff are always polite and helpful and smile , even on a freezing cold or boiling hot day.”

Ms Miles says she will continue to work at the family’s Sandwich farm shop a couple of days a week, but will have to find work elsewhere to make up for the lost wages.

A spokesperson for Barratt David Wilson Kent, the developer behind the new housing estate, said: “We are sorry to hear that Broad Oak Farm Shop is closing.

“Our team have been regular customers there. We have also worked hard to minimise the impact on our neighbours, including installing road signage indicating that shops are still open, and undertaking regular road sweeping.”

The spokesman confirmed that 50 homes have now been built on the site.

The Laslett family was approached for comment.