Hopes to open an animal test centre on the outskirts of Canterbury remain alive, despite the original plans being rejected due to their "intrusive and alien" nature.

VetQuest, a veterinary research agency wanting to turn a nursery in Stodmarsh Road into a livestock research facility, is taking the city council’s refusal to the Secretary of State.

If the decision is overturned, cows, sheep, pigs and poultry would undergo three to six-month trials of feed, vaccines or pharmaceutical products at the site.

City council case officer Chris Pragnell refused planning permission last July amid fears the research facility would need industrial-scale security fencing.

In the delegated report, he said the boundary fences would be "incongruous, intrusive and alien within the rural surroundings, particularly given the prominence of the site in views from the public footpath".

The applicant behind the proposals - which would see animals be kept in pens inside polytunnels as they undergo trials - is fighting the authority’s decision.

On behalf of applicant Jo Cocker, planning agent Vic Hester lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate.

He questions why the council, which does not have reservations about the test facilities aspect, cannot grant permission.

He said: “The local planning authority (LPA) has behaved unreasonably in refusing planning permission for a proposal that it does not object to.

“The LPA has wasted time, cost and delayed the opportunity for the appellant [Ms Cocker] to start her own business – to the benefit of the local rural economy.

"The appellant has been prejudiced by the LPA because it is concerned with what might happen should the appeal proposal cease.”

If eventually approved, four jobs would be created at the site.

Following about one week of grazing, the animals will be brought into polytunnels and kept within open pens.

Pigs could stay in there for up to four months and cows for half a year.

During this time, the livestock will be given 'feed' products, vaccines or medicines.

The blood samples will be kept in a fridge and freezer in the proposed laboratory and then sent away for analysis.

After the trials, the animals will then leave the site.

During a consultation last year, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched a petition against the application, describing the conditions as a "barren, prison-like environment".

VetQuest said animals would not be at risk from the tests and would have access to fresh, clean water and be able graze on the farm’s fields.

Council spokesman Leo Whitlock said: “We await the decision of the Planning Inspectorate with interest.

“Planning permission for this scheme was refused in July of last year because it was felt the need for industrial-scale security would be intrusive and at odds with the rural character of the surrounding area.

"In our view, this conflicted with both the Local Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework."