A bid to turn an old Angus refuse tip into a dog park has been thrown out by planners.
They said they could not apply a condition which would protect neighbouring houses from the noise of barking at the Kingennie site.
Despite assurances the exercise area would be well run, it drew 15 letters of objection from the hamlet north of Dundee.
Experienced trainer behind scheme
Lifelong dog owner Susan Malcolm lodged the plan for the site south of St Brides Cottage.
She has 37 years experience of working for Guide Dogs.
In her planning submission, she said she wanted to put that vast expertise to good use.
The site is a former dump beside the road at South Kingennie.
It would be fenced off, with parking.
Dog owners would book a slot at the exercise area.
There would be a limit of eight dogs at a time and the site would open 7am to 9pm Monday to Saturday and 7am to 7pm on Sundays.
The park would be offered free of charge to service dogs.
And she hoped it would appeal to a broad range of owners.
Those included people with nervous dogs, puppies, rescue dogs and visitors looking for a safe space to let their pets run around in.
Planning officials back objectors
But the application generated 15 objections, many from nearby residents.
They said the scale of the planned development was excessive.
Concerns were raised about aggressive dogs coming into contact with livestock and horse riders.
Planners said they could not support the scheme.
“This is a dog exercise area where multiple dogs from different households would be free to run,” said the refusal decision.
“It is close to a public road, a track, fields and garden areas where normal everyday activity could disturb the dogs and cause barking.
“The sporadic, intermittent and variable nature of noise from barking dogs may be particularly noticeable and disturbing for nearby residents.
“There is no ready means to prevent this noise.
“While the management plan suggests that persons found to be persistent or repeated offenders of inappropriate or anti-social behaviour would be prohibited from using the site, this could not be secured or enforced by planning condition.
“In practical terms, a dog owner or handler, the site owner or operator, and residents of homes near the site may all have different opinions on what constitutes inappropriate or anti-social behaviour.
“They may all have different opinions on what constitutes persistent or repeated offences.
“In conclusion, the proposal is contrary to Angus development plan policy.
“It is outwith and contiguous with the development boundary of South Kingennie and there is no public interest that would justify the development at this location.”
The application was rejected under delegated powers.
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