The owners of Middleton Farm near Potterton could be forced to scrap their ambitious shop plans as Aberdeenshire Council demands an expensive new path be built crossing their land. Middleton Farm has been in the Thomson family for three generations, and has run as a successful business since 1948. What would the new Middleton Farm Shop offer? The Thomsons want the new farm shop and cafe to act as a “stop off” destination for locals and tourists alike. He said: “The village shop shut down around five years ago, so there’s not even a village shop in Potterton and Belhelvie doesn’t have one either, it shut years ago.