A field in Kirkby Overblow is to be converted from farmland to a new dog walking park.

North Yorkshire Council approved the planning application on Tuesday (June 16).

The family at High Snape Farm, who have farmed the land for 70 years, are looking to diversify their income to ensure longevity.

They have already created a successful venture with their 'afternoon tea with sheep' experience, and continue to find creative ways to ensure their working farm gets a steady income. 

The field, just off Follifoot Lane, that is to be converted is currently underutilised due to its shape and the presence of a public footpath through the middle of it.

Access to the dog walking park will have to be booked and paid for in advance, with 55-minute slots available throughout daylight hours, and a maximum of six dogs in the enclosure at a time.

The changes made to the land will also include a tall perimeter fence and car park.

The parish council did not object to the planning application, but expressed concern at the ‘open ended’ nature of the request and called the car parking plan ‘not acceptable’.

The initial application had requested that the use of the land be a dog walking and activity area, but the council was concerned that this was too vague and that the wording ‘activity area’ be removed.

It also argued that the plan for the car park to remain grassland, with no hard surfaces to be laid, would not work as it would be ‘extremely muddy’ and ‘vehicles will be stuck all the time’.

In response, the applicants have proposed laying plastic paving grids to ‘ensure vehicles are able to access the site with ease’ but that grass can grow through the grids to ensure there is no visual impact on the landscape.

They also clarified that by ‘activity area’, they meant things like playing fetch, training dogs and dogs playing together, rather than other recreational activities.

The local highway authority also recommended that pedestrian crossing signs be put up, as the access track will cross a public footpath.