Farm Diversification - Dog Walking Facility
Our client wanted to deliver a dog walking enterprise as part of their farm diversification plan. They had a piece of unproductive arable land of just over 3ha which was now economically unviable in the farming business. Our task was to put together a planning application for a private hire dog walking facility.
The number of dogs in the UK has been steadily growing. There are now around 10 million dogs representing 1 in every 4 homes. In recent years, more and more legislation has been brought in by a large proportion of councils to make public parks "lead only". More dog owners are also finding taking their dogs for walks in parks stressful as a result of increased numbers, unsecure boundaries, aggressive dogs and dog thefts. Many behavioural and general health issue for dogs are known to be due to lack of exercise, therefore many people are turning to private dog walking fields.
Summary
Our client wanted approval for a dog walking enterprise to form part of their farm diversification plan. This is to be used mainly for private hire with occasional use by local dog trainers and agility teams. A change of use application is required for this 3ha parcel of unproductive arable land.
Worcestershire
Malvern Hills LPA
As with the case with all dog walking facilities it is important to be clear when applying for permission with the local council on a number of factors. We worked with our clients to get this in place from the word go which ultimately led to a successful application. These included (but not limited to) type of bookings, construction of any buildings, opening hours, fencing, bin placement, storage, CCTV, marketing, traffic, access, parking, ecological impact and water management.
APPROVED
"We worked with our clients to put together a detailed and robust planning application from the start. This ensured that the application was successful and we were delighted that this can now form part of the family's farm diversification plan."
Sally Moore, Managing Director, The Rural Planning Co
SALLY MOORE
PLANNING CONSULTANT & RURAL CHARTERED SURVEYOR
ABOUT
Sally is a farmers daughter from Worcestershire and loves to put her background to good use in helping businesses achieve their goals. Specialising in agricultural, rural business and diversification projects, Sally is experienced in a range of schemes and has successfully managed a variety of planning applications, permitted development applications, enforcement queries and appeals, with a very high success rate.
