Fuller Long have recently been involved in securing planning permission for the Change of Use of three vacant agricultural fields into a fit for purpose dog training and exercise facility.
As a professional animal behaviourist, our client sought to use the area for dog training and agility classes and as a secure exercise facility. Dog training classes and dog agility classes would run throughout the day with a maximum of six dogs at any one session.
The proposed change of use application was assessed by our consultants prior to submission and they considered this to be an appropriate and viable use for the land.
The change of use application was in accordance with local policies. In particular, the development complied with Policy CP6 of the Swale Borough Local Plan, which focuses on how the local Government will work with developers and other public agencies to identify the deficiencies in infrastructure provision. This application also complied with Policy DM7 in the respect that car parking would be provided on site, as well as Policy DM3 in relation to sustainable growth and expansion of the business and parts of policy DM14 in terms of being well sited. 
The application was also complicit with the NPPF in relation to sensitivity to its surroundings and the lack of impact on local roads. Additionally, the application also considered policies surrounding the diversification of agricultural land, particularly in respect to the character of the countryside. It also conformed with all the relevant policies within the development plan, which was highlighted in our supporting Planning Statement.
By emphasising the sustainable benefits that the change of use proposal would bring to the three previously under-utilised fields, we were able to highlight the lack of impact upon the countryside character or the landscape and gain full planning permission for our client. We were also able to assist a small rural business in the early stages of its development.
Dog training and exercise facilities have seen an exponential growth over the past few years. With festivals such as “Dogfest”, dubbed the UK’s biggest and best day out for canines, and dog owners spending an average of £2,000 or more a year on their pooches, it’s no wonder that facilities like that of our client have increased in prominence. Dog exercise and training facilities have been granted planning consent in recent years in Wiltshire, Essex, Yorkshire and South Norfolk.
If you are a developer in search of the right consultants to assist with your potential schemes, look no further. Fuller Long’s skilled planning and heritage consultants have over 250 years of shared knowledge and experience. For a no obligation conversation, please call 0808 164 1288 or email us at hello@fullerlong.
