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A planning application to formalise the use of a field in St Martin as a dog daycare centre has been refused.
On Thursday, the Planning Committee – a group of politicians who decide on larger and more contentious applications – rejected a bid from the Barkley Club to knock down an existing equine office, store and tack room, together with five stables, and build a dog daycare facility there.
The business also wanted to subdivide the field – in Rue des Buttes, which is south of the Catholic Church – for the dog business.
This application, which was made in September, followed another application for a larger building which the committee refused in April.
The daycare business initially appealed that rejection, but later withdrew its objection and submitted a fresh application.
That new application generated more than 100 public comments – with 80 people expressing support, and 19 against.
In making its unanimous decision this week, the committee said that when the field had originally been given permission for equine livery in 2016, it had been conditioned on it being restored to agricultural use should the equine use end.
It concluded that the loss of 15 vergées of good agricultural land was unacceptable.
In refusing the application, the Committee followed the recommendation of the Planning Officer assigned to the case.
The field has been used as dog daycare business since August 2022 and has operated since then without the necessary planning permission, prompting the involvement of the Regulation department at Infrastructure and Environment, which issued an Enforcement Notice in September this year.
That notice gave the owner one month to stop the use of the land as a canine care and training facility.
The applicant has subsequently appealed that Enforcement Notice, with a hearing scheduled for Tuesday 26 November.
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