Dog Walking FIeld Lichfield Road Little Haywood Stafford Staffordshire Data via plota.co.uk

26/42764/FUL - Full Application Awaiting decision

Proposal

Change of use of agricultural land to a private, secure dog-exercise field, including the retention of perimeter dog-secure fencing, internal parking and manoeuvring area, field shelter, access gates, signage and associated dog-exercise equipment. The field would operate on a strictly pre-booked, exclusive-use basis. Only one customer booking and one customer vehicle would be permitted on the site at any time. Each booking would last a maximum of 50 minutes, including arrival, exercising, loading and departure, followed by a mandatory 40-minute period during which no further customer may arrive. For example, a customer arriving at 11:00 must leave by 11:50, with the next customer not permitted to arrive before 12:30. All vehicles would enter the existing access from the A51, park entirely within the site, manoeuvre within the internal parking area and leave in forward gear. No waiting, queuing, parking or reversing would be permitted on the A51, the highway verge or within the site entrance. Customers arriving early would be instructed to continue their journey and return no earlier than their allocated booking time. The proposed use would be managed in accordance with the submitted Operational Management Plan, Customer User Guide and Risk Assessment. Booking records and CCTV would be used to monitor compliance with the one-vehicle restriction, booking times and mandatory buffer. Procedures would also address early arrivals, late departures, vehicle breakdowns and customer noncompliance. The proposal provides a controlled exercise facility for dogs, including reactive, nervous and rescue dogs that may be unable to exercise safely in public spaces. No permanent member of staff would be stationed at the field; operation and compliance would instead be controlled through the booking system, written customer instructions, CCTV monitoring and enforcement procedures. Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
24 Sept 2026
✓
Validated
26 Oct 2026
Decision
Expected by 21 Dec 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicts a decision between 21 Dec 2026 and 24 Jan 2027, from Stafford's recent changes of use.

Site constraints 5

Forebridge conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 2
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
1 listed building within 150 m of the postcode pin; Inside the Stafford built-up area; Priority habitat about 36 m away: Deciduous woodland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 27 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Council
Stafford
Application type
Full Application
Received
24 Sept 2026
Validated
26 Oct 2026
Ward
Haywood And Hixon
Parish
Colwich
Case officer
Show
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 2 of the 56-day target. Stafford usually decides changes of use by day 77.

Day 275 days to the predicted decision (day 77)
43%decided within 8 weeks
75%approved
5%go to committee

Plota live figures for changes of use decided by Stafford in the last twelve months, from validation. Stafford decision record →

Public comments

No public comments yet.

Last counted 27 Oct 2026

Read the comments on the council site ↗

Consultation & key dates

Env. assessment
No
Stafford
Planning Authority Score
1.8/10
Poor
#278 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Stafford is one of the slowest councils in England for householder decisions, ranking #290 out of 296. 54% of applications have the time limit extended, above the 41% national average. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (90%) than the national average (90%).

Among the slowest councils in England
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Stafford decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
84%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #227 of 296
90%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #195 of 296
26%
Decided in 8 weeks
Below avg (63%) #290 of 296
54%
Extended time limit
Above avg (41%) #245 of 296
72%
Minor dwellings approved
69 decided (1-9 homes)
75%
Major dwellings approved
8 decided (10+ homes)
81%
Change of use approved
26 decided
512
Total decisions
84 refused in the year to March 2026