Final decision given on dog training park in Freckenham, near Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket

A final decision has been issued on a new dog training park in a Suffolk village.

The application was for an agricultural field off Fordham Road, outside Freckenham’s settlement boundary, near Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds, to be turned into a dog training and exercise park.

Yesterday morning, members of West Suffolk’s development control committee unanimously agreed to approve the application despite officers’ recommendations for refusal.

The recommendations were on the basis that the new 1.8m high grey fencing, alongside car parking and bins, would lead to an adverse impact on the character of the landscape.

However, councillors agreed the benefits of giving the dog training park the go-ahead outweighed any landscape impacts.

Cllr Sara Mildmay-white, who originally agreed with officers, said she understood the concerns but agreed the park would have great benefits.

She added: “This is an innovative new business and we should be giving people a chance.

“It will look a bit intrusive, but with all the history of dog problems people have now, it is going to be a needed facility for now and in the future.”

Councillors also echoed many comments posted online over the past few days from residents who believe the park would not only improve the health of dogs, due to the behaviour training provided, but also the physical and mental health of their owners.

Cllr Phil Wittam added: “The addition of the hedging and trees in traditionally native stock is going to make a very bleak area somewhat like it would’ve been 50 years ago before all the hedgerows were grubbed out.

“It’s a very much needed facility on a much wider scale than what is apparent on the surface.”