Ball Hill villagers oppose kennels appeal

Villagers from Gore End and Ball Hill were at East Woodhay Parish Council’s meeting last Monday evening, to voice their concerns about the business, Shadowsquad, Old Burghclere.
The owner wanted to relocate the business to Rickety Gate Farm, Hamstead Marshall, a short distance from the county border, put a temporary mobile home there, build a single-storey kennel building and car park and use the land as a canine exercise area.
These proposals were refused by West Berkshire Council in April 2012 after it received 70 letters of objection, citing concerns over noise and light pollution. There were 11 letters supporting the project, including a 54-signature petition.
At last Monday’s parish council meeting, Gore End villager Sharon McIndoe said that an overriding factor should be that the kennels would not create additional employment in the area.
“What is the need? It doesn’t matter where it is, we don’t need it,” said Ms McIndoe.
East Woodhay Parish Council, which lodged an objection in June to the appeal, suggested a site visit and agreed to lodge a stronger case against the application.
After the meeting, Ball Hill villager Carrie Marsh, a mother of two young children, contacted the MP for North West Hampshire, Sir George Young, appealing for his support in opposing the application.
She said that she had concerns over the likely intolerable levels of noise from the kennels, which would be sited 0.7 miles from her home.
Shadowsquad owner Rachel Paul said that she bought the Hamstead Marshall site in 1995 with the aim of building facilities to improve conditions for a total of around 32 dogs, including three puppies, currently housed at the Old Burghclere kennels, a site owned by her father, and also used as a scrapyard.
“I have to load up dogs in my vehicle and take them up to my land (in Hamstead Marshall) and exercise them there, which I have been doing for quite a few years,” said Miss Paul.
Hitting back at what she described as a hate campaign on social media site Facebook, she said that the business had been a family-run kennels since 1959 and was licensed to breed German shepherd, labrador and Jack Russell dogs, bought by customers worldwide.
“I am not a puppy farm”, said Miss Paul.
Sir George was unavailable for comment on the issue.