Secure dog walking facility granted permission
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
DOGS are now officially allowed to run free in a secure field above Craigellachie.
Retrospective planning permission was today granted for a gated dog walking facility at Rabbit Rock.
The application for the 2.5 hectare field, previously used to grow hay, attracted 75 representations – 61 in support of the development and 14 against.
Loss of privacy and increased traffic were among issues raised by objectors, while supporters said it was a much-needed facility which would bring positive benefits to both the dogs and their owners.
Members of Moray Council's planning and regulatory services committee had visited the site and this morning followed officers' recommendation for approval, subject to a number of screening and landscaping conditions.
The field is surrounded by a 1.9 metre deer fence, as well as 1 metre of stock fence on the inside perimeter, and has been created to allow dogs who can't normally run free the chance to do so.
That includes dogs who have poor recall as well as those with behavioural traits that mean they can't be walked off the lead.
Customers book the field for a 50 minute slot with 10 minutes between each session for a changeover to the next user.
While secure dog walking fields are common elsewhere, principal planning officer Neal MacPherson said the application was the first of its type councillors in Moray would have seen.
