A cattery near Alton has been granted permission to stay open permanently.

April Carr, owner of Longcroft Luxury Cat Four Marks, has been granted permanent planning permission for the ‘cat hotel’ in her home’s secluded rear garden.

East Hampshire District Council had previously granted temporary planning permission for 12 months from May 24 2021 for the nearly 4 by 10 metre building at 12 Fairfield Green.

The council’s decision notice said the cattery now had permanent planning status. The cat hotel is allowed to take up to 12 cats at a time in the hotel. Opening hours have been set as 9am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday, excluding bank holidays.

To protect the neighbours from lights at the cattery, blackout curtains must be installed and fully closed around the front and sides of the building. 

To protect neighbours from smell, bins will also have to be kept in the garage. The notice said waste from the cattery must be disposed of regularly and appropriately by a waste removal contractor between 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday only. 

There had been six letters of objection to the plan, with Four Marks Parish Council also objecting. Concerns raised included smell, parking, disturbance from customers, the lack of need and light pollution.

The officer’s report said that all concerns had been addressed through the conditions it applied to the planning permission.