Apologies in advance this is going to be a long post. My Authority is dealing with a case on which advice is sought. The property is a detached bungalow on an estate with bungalows on either side and two storey houses to the rear. They keep pedigree cats. The entire rear garden save for a small area is covered in a structure which is a cage to keep the cats in and other cats out. It is detached from the property by approx 30mm, is less than 2.5m in height and covers less than 50% of the garden (the front garden is bigger than the rear. The structure was considered to be PD. Underneath this structure are small sheds and runs to house cats. Also in the garden are bits of trees elevated walkways and other things to keep the cats happy. The cats also have free reign of at least the lounge and kitchen of the property. They have a website which tells visitors all about them, the cats they have and kittens when they have them and their plans. At the present time they have 11 male cats 5 of which are neutered, 11 female cats 5 of which are neutered and two pet cats described as moggies which are also neutered. There are no kittens at present but some are expected in July with plans for possibly four more litters. In th epast they have had 1 litter in 2008 and 2009, 5 litters in 2010, 3 litters in 2011, 4 litters in 2012 and one so far this year. Two neighbours have complained and heve now been persuaded to make an official noise complaint which we await the outcome of. Their main issue is the noise the cats make when the females are in season and the other cats which congrgate in their garden at that time. As we believe that cats come into season every two to three weeks that seems to frequently. The cats it is claimed are kept for hobby purposes and are taken to cat shows all over the country. The owners do not consider themselves to be breeders yet they are listed as a small breeding cattery on websites advertising the breed. Given the GPDO class E amd purposes incidental etc. we would be saying that this level of use is not incidental. Has anyone any experience of taking action in these circumstances any advice would be appreciated as would case law or inspectors decision.
