Due to the impact of the pandemic, an owner of a Congleton town centre dog grooming business has submitted plans for an outbuilding which would allow her to work from home.

Wendy Payton has applied for a proposed detached building for commercial use as a pet salon at her semi-detached property located on Borough Road, Congleton.

It is proposed to use the outbuilding for a dog grooming business. Wendy's Pet Salon currently occupies a commercial premises in the town centre on Lawton Street.

Due to the current pandemic Ms Payton is now looking to work from home and "avoid" the ongoing cost of rental within the town centre along with the added "convenience" of working from home.

Ms Payton advised that she only ever has one pet at a time in the salon, but some overlap could be experienced during drop off and collection, but this would be "minimal".

Working hours would be Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday's 9am to 1pm.

Two members of staff would be employed at the business, one of them being Miss Payton and the other her daughter.

There is no intention of growing the number of staff beyond this if the business were to be permitted at the application site.

It is proposed to widen the existing driveway to provide additional parking for clients dropping off pets.

There are currently two on-site car parking spaces, but Miss Payton wants to provide an additional two spaces.

The last date for submitting comments on the application which can be viewed here is 8th April.

Cheshire East planning officers through delegated powers are expected to make a decision on the application by 11th May.