The owner of a doggy daycare centre who was prevented from reopening at her original site due to a planning refusal has gained permission to share an amateur shooting club’s building.
Koko’s Canines owner Kumiko Orlandini submitted a planning application to open her business in the Leoville Rifle Club in St Ouen earlier this year.
The Leoville Sports and Miniature Rifle Club was seeking additional income after membership declined during the pandemic, so offered its building and car park to be used as a dog daycare centre between 10:00 and 15:00 on weekdays.
The planning application stated that Koko’s Canines would not open on weekends or on public holidays, and there would be a maximum of 30 dogs cared for on the site at any one time.
Customers would not attend the dog daycare service, according to the application – which explains that pets would be brought to and from the site in dedicated doggy buses.
The major application was approved this month.
Sharing the news on social media, Kumiko said: “It’s been almost two years since I shared the post about our previous plans not being passed.
“That moment felt so heavy at the time – but looking back now, it was never a setback… it was a redirection.
“The best thing that could have happened was that rejection because that wasn’t the right place for us to thrive!”
The Koko’s Canines owner added: “To everyone who’s supported me, believed in me and been part of this journey – from our incredible team to our amazing clients and their dogs – thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The rifle club premises will still be available to members from 15:00 onwards on weekdays, and at all times on weekends.
Kumiko submitted a planning application in February 2023 for a dog shelter on existing agricultural land in Rue des Hougues, where she was already running the service.
The plans were initially approved in June 2023, despite having been recommended for refusal by the Planning Department because of the shelter’s “unsustainable” location in a protected coastal area.
However, a member of the public later appealed against the decision to grant her permission to use the site and Kumiko was told that she had to cease trading, pending the outcome of the appeal.
The doggy daycare owner then had to wait months for a decision, describing the lack of updates as “upsetting and stressful”.
The appeal was upheld and planning permission was refused last April.
At the time, Kumiko told Express that it was “not the end” of her business, and submitted a fresh application to share the rifle club premises in May this year.