An appeal has been launched to try and get permission to redevelop “disused” kennels into new homes. Huntingdonshire District Council rejected plans to knock down The County Kennels, in Sapley Road, near Kings Ripton, arguing the replacement homes proposed would harm the countryside.
However, the developer has claimed their plans would actually improve the site adding that the old kennels did “not add anything beneficial to the countryside”. The application to redevelop the kennels was submitted back in 2022, but was refused by the district council last year.
At the time the authority said: “As the proposal seeks approval for the demolition of existing dog kennel buildings and the erection of five, private residential dwellings, the proposed development is considered to be an unacceptable, unsustainable form of development in a countryside location.
“Given the indicative scale of the proposal and the associated domestic paraphernalia that would be associated with the creation of five dwellings, the proposal is considered to result in unacceptable harm to the character and appearance of the site and the wider countryside.”
An appeal has now been submitted to the planning inspectorate to try to overturn the district council’s decision to refuse the plans. In the appeal statement the developer said the commercial kennels on the site were now “redundant” and had been “for a number of years”. They said the bungalow was in a “poor state of repair” and had “no architectural merit”. They also claimed the disused kennels do “not add anything beneficial to the countryside”.
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The developer argued the proposed plans to demolish the buildings and create five new homes would be an improvement. They said: “While the development would result in some changes to the site’s character, the scale and layout of the proposed dwellings are designed to minimise visual impact and blend with the natural surroundings.
“The footprint of the new dwellings is smaller than the existing buildings, and the proposal does not encroach on any green space. Accordingly, the proposal should be considered a sustainable and positive use of this site, making it compliant with the development strategy for the area.”
However, the district council has stuck by its decision in its own statement submitted to the appeal proceedings. The authority said it does not dispute that the existing kennel buildings are “redundant and disused”, but claimed the bungalow “appears to be occupied and is therefore not redundant or disused”.
The district council said it still believes that the redevelopment to build five new homes would be a “substantial increase” in floor space compared to the existing buildings. It said: “The preplacement of single-storey structures of modest scale with five two-storey dwellings, vehicular access routes, car parking and items such as gardens, boundary treatments and external lighting would result in the introduction of a more domestic form of development, would have a notable urbanising effect, and would result in the erosion of the rural character. The proposal would therefore not represent a clear and substantial enhancement to the immediate setting.”
A planning inspector will consider the appeal and written representations made from both sides before deciding whether the development can go ahead or not. Final comments from both the appellant and the district council are due to be submitted by January 15, with a decision expected some time after that.