‘Slow planning application process harms small businesses’, says co-owner of dog exercise firm near Stamford

A small business owner has criticised the planning system after facing a nine-month wait for an application to be considered.

Jade Brooks wants to open a dog training facility on land leased from a farmer in Easton-on-the-Hill.

But having lodged an application at the end of August last year, Mrs Brooks has barely heard a word from the planning department at North Northamptonshire Council. Applications lodged more recently have been determined.

She puts this down to the size of the businesses involved and feels she and her planning consultant are being overlooked.

Mrs Brooks, who established Wittering-based Dogaholics Dog Walking back in 2018, said: “The original decision date was meant to be in October last year. Since then we’ve done everything asked of us.

“We’ve submitted what was needed, extended deadlines when requested, made countless phone calls and sent dozens of emails — to receive, more often than not, absolutely nothing in return.

“For months, we were met with silence. Emails to the assigned planning officer went unanswered. Phone calls went to voicemail with direct lines disconnected. My planning consultant and I tried every route we could.”

After approaching elected councillors, only Jason Smithers, then leader of the council, responded and helped them to secure a reply from their planning officer, who admitted they were overwhelmed with applications and that several colleagues had resigned.

Despite that conversation, another two months elapsed before Mrs Brooks and her planning consultant made progress.

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal

Mrs Brooks, who is a parent, said both she and the farmer could have been earning income from the use of the land.

“This isn’t just a planning application — it’s our livelihood. It’s our future,” she said.

“We’re not a faceless developer. We’re a small, local business trying to make a difference. We’ve worked for years to build trust, to support families, dogs, and those struggling with behavioural challenges. We offer jobs. We bring life to rural land that’s otherwise underused. We are part of the fabric of this community.

“And yet we’ve been treated like we don’t matter. It’s not just frustrating, it’s heartbreaking and it has to stop.”

A spokesperson for North Northamptonshire Council said: “We accept that the application has taken longer to deal with than the time scales we aim to meet, and we have apologised directly to the applicant for these delays.

“North Northamptonshire Council aims to deal with all applicants, regardless of scale, equally. Each application must be dealt with on its own merits taking into account any site-specific issues. This can mean that some applications involve greater complexity than others.”

While the council pointed out that Mrs Brooks and her consultant did not seek a ‘pre-application’ from the council before the planning application was submitted, Mrs Brooks said they ‘followed every instruction, responded to every request’.

The council has said the application, which would change the use of an area with existing access off Cliffe Road for use as a dog training and exercise centre with a cabin, fencing and a car park, is now undergoing a ‘final review’ before a decision is made.