Change of use to allow retail sale of pet food approved

Plans for a change of use to allow the retail sale of pre-packed pet foods and accessories at M C Freeze, Barrs Court Road, Hereford were approved by members of the central area planning sub-committee at their meeting on Wednesday, October 1.

Currently the applicant's business is operated from the cattle market and, due to the development of the Edgar Street, there is a need to relocate the business.

Herefordshire Council's economic regeneration manager said the firm will be directly affected by phase one works on the ESG starting in 2010 and has been actively searching for a suitable site since the draft Master Plan was launched in 2007. The premises in Barrs Court Road were suitable because they had similar characteristics to their existing site with customers being able to collect often bulky purchases by car.

The application site is identified in the Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan as safeguarded employment land under Policy E5. Policy TCR9 also states that proposals for large-scale retail development outside the central shopping and commercial area will only be allowed where it can demonstrated there is a need for the development in the proposed location.

The permission will be personal to the applicant, General Dogsbody.