A FORMER dale kennels and cattery could be converted into seven new bungalows if plans are given the go ahead.
Glencrest Kennels and Cattery, in Copley, ceased operating in September 2016 because the business had become unviable and now the owner wants to demolish the buildings to make way for new homes.
A previous application to build 13 homes on the site was rejected because it was felt that amount of housing would have a “materially harmful impact on the character and appearance of the area and the surrounding landscape” .
The agent for the owner, PlanArch, said subsequent pre-planning advice from the county council suggested the principle of a modest residential development on the site would be accepted.
The agent said: “The kennels and cattery had become unviable over a period of time, partly because the location no longer met market demands, it appeared to be too remote from larger centres of population; and partly because of increased competition, particularly from establishments located within or close to the larger centres of population.
“Given that the existing buildings and infrastructure on the land are, in the main, specifically designed for the purposes of kennels, it is highly improbable that an alternative use will be found for the buildings, and it is appropriate, therefore, to consider the site in the context of suitable and acceptable alternative development.
“It is considered that in the context of the site its surroundings, sympathetically scaled and designed residential development would provide such an acceptable alternative.
“The pre-application enquiry response referred to modest residential development on the site, and this is what is now being proposed in this application.”
PlanArch added that the site would become derelict if it remained as it is.
