Furious locals have lost their fight to shut down an ‘illegally built’ Staffordshire dog farm near their home.
Families living near Smithy Farm have raised concerns about barking dogs and pollution, as well as road safety issues.
But the owners were allowed to continue running their kennel business after changing plans so motorway bosses no longer objected.
The applicants had requested the maintenance of the use of part of the barnyard for breeding dogs with the maintenance of kennels and the construction of a whelping shed where the female dogs give birth.
The program also involved the construction of an acoustic fence to reduce noise at the Mill Lane site, Gratwich, near Uttoxeter.
The decision has angered Kingstone Parish Council, who say there is “overwhelming opposition” due to dog barking and soiling, BurtonLive reports.
He said “there would be constant barking at the site, which is not manned and monitored once a day by the breeder”.
(Image: East Staffordshire Borough Council)
Eleven objections were submitted by residents.
An objector, Julia Owen, spoke at the virtual meeting and said the owners did not live on the site and were not there to care for the dogs.
She said: “The owner arrives on site at 4.30am which is unacceptable.
“The site is messy and does not correspond to the neighborhood.
“The kennels were built illegally, without any consultation
“This will only benefit one house and will not take into account the other 10 (nearby) houses.”
However, Jon Imber, acting on behalf of the plaintiffs, told the meeting that highways and environmental health raised no objections.
He added: “As far as noise goes, this is a very small business of five dogs and two litters a year. It’s a working farmyard and there will be some noise.
“Applicants want to move into the site quickly, so this will avoid early arrivals.”
The council’s planning officers, in recommending the plans for approval, said the application “would not be significantly detrimental to residential amenities in terms of dominating or overshadowing impacts”.
They added: “The project would not significantly impair the visual amenities of the locality as the buildings and associated fencing are of a size and appearance that could reasonably be part of a farm area in a locality. rural.”
They also said the environmental health officer was satisfied that a ‘noise report and management plan’ showed the development ‘would not lead to a significant reduction in amenities for nearby residents due to noise disturbance “.
Councilor Greg Hall said at the meeting, “I hope the candidates maintain this site in a way that doesn’t disrupt everyone’s lives and prove the residents wrong.”