Kennels shut down after Council rejects DA

The matter came before council following a number of noise complaints from residents who live near the Fishers Hill kennels.

At the council's June 19 meeting councillors unanimously rejected the Development Application (DA) and gave the general manager consent to enforce management standards on the site.

However, the owners of the site, Cherilyne and Fred Blackman, claim that the DA would have addressed many of the issues raised.

"We're absolutely shattered," Mr Blackman said.

"After all of this time, expense and extreme stress the council decided to pull the plug and go against their planner's recommendation to give us two weeks to address any possible issues that the noise assessor advised of," Mrs Blackman said.

"Upon implementation of the DA every concern of theirs would have been solved. We were more than willing to go to any lengths and expense to achieve whatever was needed to address any noise concerns."

However, Dungog's mayor John Connors disagreed. Cr Connors said that the applicant failed to demonstrate that the DA meets zoning criteria or address the noise complaints.

He also stated that if the dogs aren't removed, the general manager will begin enforcement proceedings. "Any activities out there at the moment are unauthorised," Cr Connors said.

"They've got to remove the dogs. If they don't council will decide on some enforcement action.

"Council could take proceedings to the Land and Environment Court, council could issue a penalty notice. They're just two options that council could choose but that's at the discretion of the general manager.

"The point is that there is now no development consent for dog breeding on that site so they can't conduct the dog breeding operations on that site."

Ross Beaney lives on a neighbouring property about 900 metres from the property where the dogs are located.

Mr Beaney said that he and a number of other surrounding neighbours had "suffered in silence" for years before the initial DA was submitted in 2023.

"Anybody who comes to my property will attest that they hear the noise and go 'my god what is that noise'," he said.

"We hear the dogs particularly during the night when the acoustics are much quieter. We hear the dogs in the distance. A range of neighbours are kept up, and are annoyed by that. Particularly those that are closer.

"A number of people in the area have suffered in silence on this for a great deal of time. None of us want to be bad neighbours.

"We have nothing against people who own dogs. We have nothing against the sensible breeding of dogs. We have nothing against the training and boarding of dogs. We love dogs. We would just love to be able to enjoy our property in peace, like everybody."

The DA that was rejected by council stipulated with the kennels must be made from soundproof panels. The kennels were to be angled away from the neighbouring properties, and a large acoustic wall had to be constructed in a bid to prevent further noise pollution.

This would cost the couple between $200,000 and $300,000 to implement.

Mrs Blackman is now working to rehome as many of the dogs as possible as quickly as she can and said that there is a "distinct possibility" that they will appeal Dungog council's decision. "I'm just worried about what happens to the dogs," she said.