Major update on Sunderland dog boarding business's bid to build new and improved kennels
A dog boarding business’s application to build a new and improved kennels facility has been blocked by council development chiefs, following concerns about negative impacts on the Green Belt.
Sunderland City Council’s planning department has refused an application for the Ferry Farm site, in Offerton Lane near South Hylton.
The site, which sits within the Green Belt, is home to the Ferry Farm Boarding Kennels & Cattery which, according to its website, offers “personal and friendly service providing day care, short and long-term cat and dog boarding at affordable prices.”
A design and access statement from applicants said the proposed new kennels accommodation had been designed for its “energy efficiency” but also for “the retention of staff members and their well-being and for the continuing satisfaction/retention of the animals’ owners themselves”.
The design and access statement confirmed the design of the new building had been “directly influenced” by the planning approval of the “recently constructed 11-unit cattery building located to the north of this proposed new building site (application no 23/01648/FUL)”.
It was noted that the existing 18-unit kennel building would be “taken down in stages to allow for the continuing occupancy of this boarding facility throughout its re-development”, with “internal pod partitioning units being retained until the new units are fit enough for re-occupation”.
Applicants said the kennels development’s design had been “driven by key considerations” including the “wider context of development in a rural location within the Green Belt”.
Those behind the plans said the new building would not be classed as “inappropriate” within the Green Belt, and would meet “very special circumstances” needed to justify development under planning policies.
This included the “improvement to the landscape”, the development “arguably contributing to openness given the existing extensive development on the site” and the “innovative nature of the design”, including its “low-level design”.
It was also noted that it would be “far more economically viable to build a new structure completely instead of any possible conversion” proposals.
During a council public consultation exercise on the plan, there were no representations submitted.
After considering the planning application however, Sunderland City Council’s planning department refused it on December 5, 2025, citing two main reasons for refusal.
The council decision report acknowledged plans would “see a new kennel block built upon land which is already substantially used for such a purpose” but noted the new building would “take in an additional 213sqm of new footprint, with the height more than doubling from 2.74m to 5.9m”.
Council planners, in the decision report, said the development “constitutes inappropriate development within the Green Belt, which is harmful by definition and it would cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt by virtue of its significant spatial and visual impact, resulting from the increased footprint and height”.
It was noted that the “applicant has not demonstrated that such harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness, is clearly outweighed by other considerations and, as such, has failed to demonstrate that very special circumstances exist.”
The second reason for refusal included the “proposal, by virtue of its scale, massing and position adjacent to a public bridleway, appearing as a conspicuous and unsympathetic form of development which would be detrimental to the prevailing character of the area.”
Council planners said the scheme was acceptable in terms of “ecological and tree related impacts” and also concluded that the scheme would not have any “adverse impact” on highway and pedestrian safety.
However, they added that national planning policy “makes it clear that the essential characteristics of the Green Belt is permanence”, and that the “massing of the new building, coupled with the notably increased public perception of the building from the adjacent bridleway, would cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt.”
A submission from the applicant’s planning agent, included in the council decision report, made arguments why the development represented the “very special circumstances” needed to “outweigh any inappropriateness” to the Green Belt.
This included landscape improvements, the design and layout of the scheme “contributing to [the] openness” of the Green Belt through “enhancing the appearance of the site in this sensitive location” and “removing the intrusive existing buildings”, as well as the “low-level design of the new buildings”.
The applicant’s agent also asked the council to note the “innovative nature of the design and the contribution that this proposal would make […] to the protection and enhancement of the environment, the significant enhancement of the immediate setting and sensitive response to the local area as an exemplar of innovative contemporary design reflecting the highest standards and best practice.”
However, these arguments were not accepted by Sunderland City Council’s planning department which recommended the application for refusal over Green Belt and visual amenity issues.
It was noted that the proposed building would “result in a substantial enlargement in the massing of the new kennels when compared to the existing low-rise structure” and that “this, coupled with the notably increased public perception of the building from the adjacent bridleway would, in officers opinion, cause substantial harm to the openness of the Green Belt”.
The council decision report added: “As has been set out earlier in the report, the demonstration of very special circumstances progressed by the agent is not accepted and none have been identified by officers further to the considerations given above.
“In addition, the increase in the massing of the new development is such that it would now sit quite prominently above the retaining wall which bounds the east of the site.
“Officers would therefore take the view that introducing large sections of new brickwork and roofing material into the visual confines of the well-used public bridleway would be harmful to the character of the area and of detriment to visual amenity.”
The applicant has the right to challenge the council’s refusal decision by lodging an appeal with the Secretary of State.
For more information on the planning application, or to track its progress, visit Sunderland City Council’s planning portal website and search reference: 25/00196/FUL
For the latest public notices from your area, please visit: https://publicnoticeportal.uk/