‘Plans for kennels near our homes are barking’
RESIDENTS SIGN PETITION AND SEND IN OBJECTIONS
The proposed site for
kennels, off Bent Lane, between Foston and Broughton Local democracy reporter RESIDENTS have lashed out at plans to set up a boarding kennel for up to 32 dogs close to their homes.
The application, submitted by a Mr J Bailey, would see the new boarding kennel built on a field off Bent Lane, between Foston and Church Broughton.
A petition signed by 34 objecting residents has been submitted to South Derbyshire District Council.
In addition, 30 objection letters have also be submitted, many of which are from the same residents who signed the petition.
They fear that the dogs will cause an “unacceptable” noise disturbance and will have a “severe impact on the residents enjoying their homes and gardens”.
Council officers have recommended that members of the authority’s planning committee approve the application. It will be decided on Tuesday, December 18.
The development would take place in a field behind a house in Bent Lane, known as Greenacre. The proposed business would be run by the tenant of the house.
It would contain 14 kennels, capable of accommodating 28-32 dogs. The remainder of the field would be used for exercise space. One objecting resident stated: “The barking of dogs will cause noise disturbance. I live in Church Broughton and dogs can be heard from over half a mile away.”
Another objector said: “Dogs are pack animals and are likely to make a lot of noise due to separation/new dogs being introduced.”
A third resident commented: “There is no mention of dogs barking at night which is a concern as dogs can bark as loud as 80-90 and as loud as 100 decibels. Twenty-eight dogs barking at this level must be considered.”
The applicants say there is a shortage of boarding kennel space in South Derbyshire. Of 36 licensed “animal boarding establishments” in the district, 13 are boarding kennels.
It is estimated by the applicants that there are 63,645 dogs in South Derbyshire, and there will be a further 18,927 by 2028, based on the average number per household.
The applicant states: “These figures demonstrate that by 2028 each of the 13 kennels will need to have 17.23 kennel spaces available every day of the year to cope with demand.
“If the application is granted to increase the boarding kennels to 14 then this still requires every kennel to have 16 kennel spaces available every day.”
The kennels would provide jobs for one full-time employee and an apprentice. The kennels would cost £70,000 to build and would bring in between £110,000 and £150,000 a year. Acoustic fences and sound proofing would also be installed to help quash any noise disturbance.