A dog lover from Worth may be forced to give up her business if planning permission is once again refused at a public inquiry tomorrow. (Wednesday)

Sharon Russell, 53, of Deal Road, has run the Happy Hounds Holidays dog boarding business for the last seven years.

She became a licensed dog boarder in 2011 but claims that when she started the business in 2007 she was not told by Dover District Council that she would need a licence from them.

She has now submitted three retrospective planning applications over the last few years and all three have been refused.

She said: “If I didn’t have to work and earn a living I would do this for nothing. I see the benefits for the dogs.

“We are two hard-working people and this is just so unfair.”

Mrs Russell lives with her husband Mick, 56, who works on a nearby farm, and says she couldn’t afford to move house even if this was the only solution.

The applications were refused by the district council because it states that her business would be outside the confines of the village. As it is classed as a rural area there are concerns that it would take trade from the town and increase traffic on the road.

A neighbour also complained of noise and smell as a result of the dogs but Mrs Russell says they are “calm and relaxed” when at her home.

Environmental Health also investigated and Mrs Russell said an officer found no issues.

Mrs Russell added: “It seems like the council are taking everything the neighbours said as if it was fact.”

She explained that she is the only licensed dog boarder in the Dover district area

A condition of the application was that there would be no more than 10 dogs during the day and four dogs at night.

However, if it is refused at the hearing on Wednesday at Dover District Council offices in Whitfield, Mrs Russell will be forced to close her business by December 20.

A spokesman for DDC confirmed the hearing is a planning appeal against an enforcement notice which requires the cessation of day time care and night time boarding of dogs, except for those dogs belonging to the family in residence of this single family dwelling.

“We are two hard-working people and this is just so unfair.” - Sharon Russell

Jane Kingsley, 79, of Deal Road, takes her dog to Mrs Russell every Tuesday when she volunteers at Canterbury cathedral.

She said: “I have never heard those dogs barking so for anybody that says there is a lot of barking - there are other dogs that live on that lay-by. It’s certainly not Sharon’s.”

“I have been walking around down the Deal Road collecting signatures of support. I’ve got 40 names on the petition saying that they don’t object to her having the dogs there.

“She helps people like me that live on my own and my family live a long way away. It’s a way of knowing that my little dog is being looked after.”