A DOG rescue centre in Latchingdon has applied to a council for planning permission to continue operating after it was told it would be forced to close last year.

AA Dog Rescue Centre, in Burnham Road, Latchingdon, made an application for formal planning permission to house a dog rescue home at their farm.

The proposals have been put forward to Maldon District Council for the change of use of the land and attached building to become a mixed use of a dog rescue centre and equestrian.

The change will result in 32 kennels on the site, an isolation block, a vet area, and 11 stables.

The plans also include a detailed mitigation scheme, relocation of exercise areas, fencing and landscaping measures to try and cut down on the noise created.

AA owners, Charley Nathan and Karen James were served with enforcement notices by the council in June 2015.

The notices stated that the dog rescue had changed the use of the land, without planning permission, from an equestrian site to one that contained equestrian use, retail use and use as a dog rescue site.

Mrs Nathan and Mrs James disagreed with this.

They argued that there was no material difference between use for horses and use for dogs, and also denied the retail element of the notice.

Planning inspector Diane Lewis upheld the council’s rulings, and the centre was told it would need to stop operating as a dog rescue home by October 8, last year Speaking at the start of this year, Ms Nathan said despite the ongoing court action the rescue centre would not stop taking in dogs.

She said: “Where are the dogs going to go if not here?

“In Essex there is not enough space for them.

“Those that we have taken in [since the enforcement] now have new homes when they would have been dead.

“That is why we are defying the order because that is what we do – we save dog’s lives.

“We continue to fight.”

Almost 40 residents in the area have so far written in support of the rescue centre’s latest application.

There are also three letters objecting to the proposals which have been received.

One objector said: “What is going on in the world, where people are allowed to break the law, make other people’s lives a misery, are told to shut down, and yet are still allowed to carry on business as though nothing has happened.

“This application and its appeals have all failed, why is this new version even being considered?

“The noise level is totally unacceptable with so many barking dogs at one time. You would think that living in the countryside at the weekend would be tranquil but not with the sound of so many dogs barking at once.”

Meanwhile, supporters of AA Dog Rescue Centre and its application praised the work the rescue centre does to care for abandoned dogs and find them a new, secure home.

It is hoped a decision will be made on the application by the start of September.