PLANS for the temporary siting of a caravan and building of a lodge to house a dog daycare and boarding facility on land in Callington, with change of use of that land to house a secure dog paddock for hire, have been refused by Cornwall Council.

The plan, ref PA21/01065 on the Cornwall Council planning portal, related to land at Frogwell Road in Callington and proposed that the temporary caravan and lodge building would occupy the site for three years and be provided with a septic tank and other services while the secure dog paddock would be available for hire.

The delegated officer’s report states that the applicant, Mrs Stacey Rose, gave as her reasons for making the application that she has occupied approximately 2.6 hectares/6.5 acres of land at Frogwell Road for the past four years and that the land has been primarily used for allotments and dog exercise. However, she has now had the opportunity to purchase additional land of approximately 0.8 hectares (2 acres). Having worked with dogs for a number of years and run a dog walking business, she has identified a demand for home-style boarding, day care and secure exercise for people’s pets in the Callington area.

Mrs Rose stated that her current residence was not suitable for home boarding and so she was looking to develop such a business on this extra plot of land. Her proposal was for a timber-style lodge to be divided into six rooms allowing up to 12 dogs to be accommodated overnight (or only six dogs if from single pet homes). The lodge was also to have provided space to take six additional day boarders, plus there would be a contained play space “to be rented on an hourly basis and utilised for the kennel dogs.” The proposal also included the temporary dwelling on site so that 24-hour supervision of the dogs could be provided – a condition of the business licence.

The planning officer’s said: “The proposal relates to a business in an embryonic state. However, the business appears to be well researched and have a reasonable chance of success based on the financial projections and knowledge of the applicant. The applicant has researched costs and has capital available to invest as required to build the lodge and play pen. The caravan to be used as temporary accommodation was on site at the time of the site visit.”

However, the planning application representations show that Callington Town Council “agreed to recommend refusal of this application based on the lack of evidence to show that there would be no adverse impact on neighbouring properties”. The town council also said that no evidence had been given to show that there would be no adverse impact on local roads.

In her refusal notice, Louise Wood, Cornwall Council’s Service Director Planning and Sustainable Development, said that in “the absence of the necessary robust special justification” and “lack of compelling evidence in respect of the need and viability of the proposed business that such a dwelling would serve”, the application would be an unsustainable form of development eroding the undeveloped nature of the countryside and conflicting with several of the council’s Local Plan policies.