A MOVE to turn a farmer’s field into a bespoke dog walking facility has been narrowly backed by six votes to four.

Stockton councillors voted to give the plans off Forest Lane, near Kirklevington, the green light despite some worries about speeding cars, fouling and fly-tipping. 

The field at Ned’s Bridge lay-by is to be fenced off with dog walkers charged to access the field one-at-a-time by the hour. 

But there were concerns over access, road safety and litter heard by the planning committee. 

Ruth Mazonas, clerk of Kirklevington and Castle Levington Parish Council, said the lay-by had a “history of anti-social behaviour” and fly-tipping. 

“It’s a location which is isolated and they come at all hours of the night and dump,” she added. 

“I’ve also been putting notices up for years reminding people to pick up after their dogs and there is a terrible thing which goes around called toxocariasis from dogs which haven’t been wormed properly.

“Unless assurances can be made that the site is cleared every single day, there is a chance of child or adult picking this up as it gets into your eye and you go blind.”

Villager Jennie Beaumont also shared worries over the access and the speed of cars going by on the 60mph limit road – and the safety of people walking in an “isolated location”. 

Cllr Andrew Sherris, independent member for Yarm, objected ahead of the meeting with worries over Forest Lane being used as a “rat-run”. 

He said: “Without on site monitoring how can you ensure that anti-social behaviour such as bad and dangerous parking, dog noise and collection of waste, can be properly monitored?”

Dog walking fields were introduced in North America in the late 1970s and have slowly spread across the Atlantic. 

The private field will be the first of its kind in Stockton borough and it would be permitted to open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 10am until 6pm on weekends. 

Applicant Lucy Shepherd told the panel the dog walking site had presented a “farm diversification opportunity” and that they already clearing fly-tipped waste from the lay-by.

She added: “The more regular presence of people at the lay-by would be a further deterrent to those seeking to use the adopted highway for possible anti-social behaviour. 

“The field will be only available for a single booking at a time and given controlled time slots – users of the field will be required to register and provide their details in order to book the field and given a full introduction to field usage rules including picking up poop.”

Private access codes which change over time will be used to access the field – and officers were confident the charge and market demand for it use would ensure it was kept it clean. 

But Mayor Cllr Lynn Hall shared worries over visibility from the access road – warning they “ignore parish councils at their peril”. 

She added: “We have no data on speeding on Forest Lane – the number of times it’s been mentioned in this committee in recent months with the developments in Kirklevington yet we have no official data. 

“I’m concerned about the enforcement of conditions and I have major highway concerns.”

Officers said the anti-social behaviour situation “could improve” with the facility and there were conditions attached to improve the site’s access road. 

Highways and environmental health departments offered up no objections to the plans. 

After a 20 minute debate, members narrowly backed the council’s recommendation to approve the scheme.