ONE of the top gun dog trainers in the country has been given permission to set up his business in Carleton.

This week Craven District Council's planning committee gave its blessing to plans from John Halsted for the partial change of use at Sixpenny Syke Farm, in Carleton Lane.

The application asked for change of use of existing buildings for keeping dogs for training as gundogs/sheepdogs and obedience training.

It also included provision for the change of use of agricultural land for dog training and retention of agricultural use.

The farm is located to the west of the village in open countryside adjacent to West Road.

Members were told that while the farm would continue to be run as an agricultural holding with sheep as the mainstay of the business, the proposal was to use the existing 25 acres of land for training the dogs and to use a small lean-to building as kennels.

It is envisaged around 15 dogs would be in residence for training at any one time and would be trained on the surrounding land to the sound of gun shot using starting pistols or blanks.

Mr Halsted has been the personal dog trainer and handler for the Marchioness of Hartington, at Bolton Abbey, for the past 13 years; has been a member of the England gundog team for the past nine years and for the past 10 has qualified to run in the top retriever competition.

His own field trials champion retriever, Style, has qualified to compete in the championship for the last seven years - something which no other dog or handler is said to have ever achieved.

Members of the planning committee noted that because the dogs to be trained generally stayed for several months, they would be well under the control of the trainer and unlikely to create a noise nuisance.

The highways authority had objected on the grounds that there was a lack of suitable visibility at the junction of the access road.

However, because visits by the dogs' owners were likely to be infrequent, planners felt it would not cause a problem.

Carleton Parish Council had no comments to make in respect of the application.

Members voted to approve the application subject to conditions that the site should not be used as accommodation for dogs unrelated to the gun dog training business without prior consent.

In addition, councillors wanted warning notices advising the public that the land was being used for the training of gun dogs to be placed at all points where the public footpaths entered the site, and to be retained permanently.