The owner of a popular dog park that closed suddenly says she is doing everything in her power to reopen the facility at a new venue.

Maxine Hughes – the driving force behind Westwood Dog Park at Westwood Cross - was given just two weeks’ notice to leave the Broadstairs site last month, to make way for an impending development.

The mother-of-three was devastated at the time but says the support she has since received from the community is pushing her to open somewhere else.

She says: “It’s been unbelievable and I feel humbled by it. It’s made me more determined to come back.

“It’s been a bit of a blessing in disguise but I think the blessing has come from the support. Everyone has been so upset that we’ve been shut down.”

While she is unable to announce a new venue yet, Ms Hughes says she is hoping to be back in the spring, with something currently in the pipeline.

She told KentOnline: “I’ll definitely be back in some way. We’ve kept social media open to update our followers.

“I love what I do. Yes, it’s business and we earn money, but I love providing and seeing people and their dogs happy.

“I’m a big dog fan so I want to see people enjoying their dogs and that's what it does.

“I have so many good memories of the park but I’m hoping it’s something that had to happen for it to move forward.

“If an alternative is there, we’ll make it happen.”

Westwood Dog Park offered 45-minute slots between 6am and 9pm for £15 – and could host up to six dogs at a time. Ms Hughes previously said the site was a safe haven for nervous pooches.

The 54-year-old says customers reached out to her after the park shut on January 2, and for some it was a lifeline.

She adds: “People have been telling me about how they’re sad to see it empty when driving past and how their dogs got excited because they thought they were going there.

“The park covered so many needs – one lady who is blind used to come with her guide dog and she had a routine. She loved it and it was a bit of a lifeline for her.”

A petition set up in December in a bid to save the site gained more than 2,200 signatures.

“It shows the necessity of it and the need for this facility in the area,” Ms Hughes says.

The animal lover moved to Broadstairs for a quieter life a few years ago but says she got bored so she started a dog-walking business.

She then branched out to open her first dog park and offer a dog-sitting service.