JUST under six months ago the return of a traditional greengrocer to a Norfolk market town was hailed as something of a shopping revival. Dereham had been without a greengrocer for some 15 years before Tacim Dilek opened his Greenland shop in a former chemist's shop in the town's historic Market Place.

JUST under six months ago the return of a traditional greengrocer to a Norfolk market town was hailed as something of a shopping revival.

Dereham had been without a greengrocer for some 15 years before Tacim Dilek opened his Greenland shop in a former chemist's shop in the town's historic Market Place.

But now it looks like the town could be without a fresh fruit and vegetable outlet once again.

Mr Dilek says he is just not making enough money from it to make it pay its way and has applied to Breckland Council to turn the shop into a branch of Rumbles Fish Bar, selling fish and chips, cooked ribs and fried chicken.

He said that although the shop was welcomed when it opened in July trade slumped after about one month.

“And business has been so bad in

the last four to five weeks. We have lost money in this, it is difficult to pay

the rent,” he said.

Another fast food outlet is something the town does not need, according to councillor Michael Fanthorpe, who had welcomed the greengrocer when it opened in July.

“It is a retrograde step,” he said. “We would be very sorry if that happened. All these fast food shops litter the town and makes it smell. We are surrounded by them.”

Mr Dilek, who runs another Rumbles Fish Bar in Watton, has applied to remove signage from the front of the bow window shop - currently subject of a request by the council to have it removed because it is out of keeping in a conservation area.

He wants to put up a new sign, fit out the interior with tiles on the floor and walls and fit an extraction chimney at the back of the shop.

The planning application, which says the greengrocers, like the chemist before it, was not profitable, will have to close and that a hot food outlet would be profitable.

It states: “In the present retail climate with so many shops closing it could become another empty shop if change of use was not given.”

When he opened the greengrocer Mr Dilek said it had been hard for small businesses to compete against large supermarkets but that he was willing to give it a go - having started out in the trade aged just 12 when he worked at his father's shop.