Retrospective dog field applications currently slip past BNG rules – meaning no 30-year monitoring plans, no offset credits, and no bureaucratic nonsense. Here’s how the loophole works, who it helps most, and why it won’t stay open for long.

Short answer: technically yes. Long answer: absolutely not, unless you fancy a personal introduction to your local enforcement officer. Let’s Start With the Obvious You’ve probably seen it online – someone bragging that they used ‘AI’ to write their planning application. They typed, ‘Write a planning statement for a dog…

Many dog-field owners start with good intentions and a printer full of hope. But DIY planning rarely saves money. Here’s what happens when “I’ll do it myself” turns into months of chaos – and why expert help usually costs less in the long run.

Everyone talks about it – few understand it. The 28-Day Rule is the rural legend of planning permission: that magical clause that supposedly lets you open your dog field ‘without permission’. In truth, it’s narrow, fiddly, and easy to get wrong. Here’s what it actually says, why it rarely works for commercial dog field use, and how to use it smartly without waving a red flag at your local council.

Secure dog fields are booming- but so are the complaints about who does and doesn’t have planning permission. Here’s why being the self-appointed “planning police” does more harm than good, what really matters to customers, and why you should focus on your own field before pointing fingers.

Forget buy-to-let headaches and unpredictable crop yields — secure dog fields offer landowners a smart, sustainable way to build long-term income. Whether you’re planning for retirement or just want steadier cash flow, this article breaks down why dog fields might just be your best-kept pension secret.

On average, dog fields with woodland areas charge 22% more than pasture-type fields and have 14% greater occupancy (as well as being booked up far further into the future).

Our most recent study into field setup found that Dog Field Operations that have more that one field operating on their site make an average of 20% less per session and are 27% less occupied over a 3 month study period.

By the end of this article, our hope is that you better understand the process and purpose of the Biodiversity Net Gain assessments

CCTV for dog fields – What you need to know from cameras and off-grid power set-up to data sims and your legal obligations to your customers.

This is one where I’m not going to beat about the bush. TAKEAWAY: Check the field daily before opening.WHY: most damage happens overnight (digging, gates, vandalism, weather).BONUS: keep a quick photo log – it protects you if anything kicks off. You must check your fields daily before your first booking…

Acre for acre, dog fields have the highest return on investment of any land use I know of that doesn’t involve selling up and watching the developers move in.

7 Ways To Get People To Follow Your Dog Field Rules And Instructions

Results from a recent poll by British Dog Fields across social media showed that over 95% of regular dog field users who participated require their dog fields to have a minimum fence height of 6ft.

Installing a well constructed sand pit which is safe and provides enough space for a dog to dig and play is a great addition to a secure dog field facility.

If your planning application is refused or unreasonable conditions are applied, you can appeal the decision. The success of that appeal is dependent on many things.

With a lot of experience in this unsavoury topic and having refused to be defeated by the challenge, here we’ll share our top tips for reducing the impact of this issue – the do’s and the don’ts of dealing with dog waste in secure fields.

Most fields stay open unless there’s a Met Office health alert, but just because you can stay open doesn’t always mean you should.

Dog fields have been around for decades but their popularity as an alternative land-based income has seen a huge rise in the last 12 months with both a positive, and negative impact on established field owners.

Most secure dog fields in the UK can expect to earn between £25,000 and £35,000 a year but those in a particularly good location, with long operating hours, and offering an exceptional level of service and security can earn upwards of £55,000.

Setting up a dog field is easy! If you know what you’re doing. If you haven’t done it before and don’t know your market you can make some very expensive mistakes that can have an enormous effect on the success of your business.

Every field is different, but as an example of the most common set up – a 2 acre grass paddock with 6ft fencing – using our own Dog Field Cost Calculator, set up costs are approximately £20,000-30,000 excluding the cost of the land (2022) depending on a few important factors.

There are dog fields all over the UK varying in size from ½ acre to the largest secure field in the UK which is 26 acres but most commonly dog fields are between 2 and 4 acres in size.

The best way to get rid of the dog poo generated in your field is through a professional waste collection company.

For dog owners in Darlington, there are now two new secure facilities that have been designed from day one with a view to gaining British Dog Fields Accreditation.

Most people expect to be able to shop for groceries, airline tickets, hair appointments and booked events online so it should be no surprise that users of dog fields expect to be able to make and manage their bookings online too.

Adding just one additional weekday booking in your dog field can increase your revenue by more than £2500 per year.

Visiting dog fields in person is important for all users. We report the facts and remove the element of preference from the review process.

If you’re not a land owner or farmer with a field you can use, then the idea of setting up a secure dog exercise park might feel like a far off dream. Finding the right bit of land to buy or rent can be a real challenge.

Setting up a dog field might sound simple – put up a fence, make a Facebook booking page and watch the money come rolling in.

As a standard, anyone setting up a dog field should use high tensile wire fencing that stands at least 6ft (1.8m) from the ground.

If you are planning to run a dog field as a commercial operation, renting your land to customers for the purpose of exercising dogs you will need consent from your local planning authority.

If you’re a regular user of exclusive-use dog fields you have probably had more than one session cut short by people arriving early, people leaving late or people turning up at completely the wrong time. We have even had an unwitting person waltz straight into a field we were using,…