Los Reyes in Caerleon wins permission for orchard and kitchen garden

# What happened

# What the proposal covers The planning documents, prepared by agents LRJ Planning, describe two linked elements:

• A kitchen garden: a "naturalistic" growing space for seasonal vegetables, herbs and soft fruit that will be used in the restaurant's dishes.
• An orchard: the introduction of a range of fruit-bearing trees arranged to provide seasonal interest and biodiversity benefits.

The application also sought permission to build new retaining walls to support the landscaping and planting on the sloped site.

# Timeline and legal status Documents submitted with the application show work began on the project in November 2025. Because construction started before formal consent was granted, the planning permission is partly retrospective.

# Why the restaurant is doing this According to the planning submission, the garden and orchard are meant to:

• Provide direct, organic produce to the restaurant's kitchen, helping deliver a locally focused menu.
• Make positive use of a currently underutilised section of the site behind the premises.
• Deliver a productive landscape that contributes seasonal interest and enhances biodiversity around the restaurant.

# Practical implications for the business and neighbourhood For Los Reyes, the new growing space should reduce reliance on external suppliers for some ingredients and allow the kitchen to plan menus around what is in season. The orchard component is intended to mature over time and offer longer-term yields and landscape value.

For the immediate area, the scheme converts underused land into a cultivated green space, with retaining walls and planting altering the rear setting of the building. The planning records flag biodiversity enhancement as an objective, through the introduction of mixed planting and trees.

# What to watch next Expect the orchard and garden to develop over multiple seasons as plants establish and trees begin producing fruit. Any future changes to the layout or use beyond supplying the restaurant will likely require further planning consideration.

# Bottom line Los Reyes has formal approval to grow its own organic ingredients at the rear of its Belmont Hill site. The project combines short-term kitchen gardening with longer-term orchard planting, began before formal consent, and aims to supply the restaurant while improving the local landscape and biodiversity.