Monday November 24th 2025
The Dog Day Care Centre, in Gorebridge has been operating for 20 years
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
A dog day care centre was refused permission to replace its ageing barn with four new shipping containers after planners ruled the proposals were ‘too much’.
The centre owner is appealing the decision by Midlothian Council to block her proposals to use the containers to replace the barn which has been on the site since before it began operating 20 years ago.
The new containers, which would be placed in the field where the centre is based in Gorebridge, would provide accommodation for dogs and shelter from inclement weather as well as providing staff with inside space to work.
The applicant argued the land was a brownfield site which has been used to run the day care business for 20 years and the containers would be more energy efficient than the current building on the land.
But a report by planning officers said the four containers which measure 24 metres in length and are 2.4 metres wide and 2.6 metres high were too much for the rural site.
And they raise concern about the use of shipping containers in general as unsuitable for long term plans.
In their report refusing planning permission officers said: “The planning authority have concerns over the long term use of shipping containers as these have a temporary appearance which are not suitable for long term or permanent use.
“Where these are approved, these are generally conditioned to be in place for up to five years to allow the applicant to find a permanent, long term solution for the use. In this instance, the size and scale of development is too much and not appropriate for the rural area.
“Even if these were finished in timber cladding or another material to help integrate them into the landscape these would be significant features in the surroundings.”
In addition officers point out that the local authority recently rejected a bid for retrospective permission for nine shipping containers at a new builders yard at land near the current day care business.
They said: “While this was for a new commercial use and related works, it did include the siting of shipping containers, similar to those currently proposed and so is relevant to this application.
“This was refused as it was not in keeping with the scale and character of the surrounding rural area and was poorly integrated into the rural landscape. The same considerations apply to the current application and there is no reason for the planning authority to come to a different conclusion here.”
The appeal will go before the council’s Local Review Body next month.
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