View from the cattery over the wildlife                   garden, under construction,

        towards the village of East Worldham

           WORLDHAM COUNTRY CATTERY

                          THE STORY

For several years I have had an ambition to open my own cattery in the beautiful surroundings of North East Hampshire.

I had looked at various cattery manufacturers and decided on a modern uPVC construction. In November 2017 I contacted Peticular Pens in Ipswich and asked them to plan a cattery for up to 20 cats with 6 double and 2 family suites, an isolation suite and a kitchen/reception facility.

In December 2017 I travelled to Nottingham to a successful cattery by Peticular. I was struck by the light airy feel, the provision of various shelves within the suites, and the digital environmental control within the sleeping area. I particularly liked the window in the top of the sleeping area allowing cats interest even when the weather meant they prefer to stay in the warm. The design also included acrylic sheets in the mesh windows of the safety corridor, keeping out the wind and rain. These improve conditions for me and also enable the cats to use the exercise area of the suite in poor weather.

My plans arrived in December and I started investigating the planning process.

My first hurdle was a pre-planning meeting with East Hampshire District Council. I had no experience of planning so this was a steep learning curve. In addition to the cattery plans, scale drawings were produced, photographs taken, block and location plans purchased and annotated and the application form completed. The appointment was made for 8 February 2018 and I attended with trepidation as this would determine the future of my project.

The meeting went well. Another uPVC cattery within the South Downs National Park had received consent in 2017 so the outlook was good.

Following this meeting I spent a considerable time preparing a planning statement, discussing details of the cattery and how it related to the EHDC Local Plan Joint Core Strategy. This really was all new to me and very interesting.

On 28 August I submitted the application online and, following a few amendments, it was validated on 17 September. The decision was due in 8 weeks. Several agencies were invited to comment including the local Parish Council and I attended the meeting on 17 October. There were several questions about the project which I was able to clarify and the Parish Council supported the application.

Planning permission was granted on 14 November 2018 and the project could begin.

Initially I needed to find a builder to construct the base on which the uPVC structure would stand. This proved quite difficult but eventually work started on             13 February 2019. The next month was a testing time with several issues during the build, not helped by the weather.The base was completed in early March and, on 10 March, Peticular Pens arrived from Ipswich to construct the cattery.

Despite the appalling weather in the first week, the build went very well and was finished on time and on budget on 22 March; the guys did a sterling job.

The next installation was the electrics. This started on 10 April and was a much bigger job than expected by the electrician with infrared heaters, extractors, lights and sockets to be connected for all 9 suites and the kitchen/reception. The work all went well and was finished by Easter.

Throughout the project the screed floor had been an issue so the next challenge was to install a tiled floor. I was reassured by the tiler who did not think there would be a problem. Tiling started on 6 May and was completed in a week producing a beautiful finish to the building.

Next the kitchen was installed, more new skills learnt!! I started to order equipment for the cattery, beds, litter trays, scratch posts etc, lots of online shopping and an astonishing array of products available. Careful selection with hygiene a top priority was necessary.

On the 9 June the licence application was submitted to EHDC environmental health department and the inspection was arranged for the 19 June. The desk for reception was the last thing to arrive and this was constructed on the evening of the 18 June.

The inspection went well and the licenced was granted.

WORLDHAM COUNTRY CATTERY was finally open.