Dog groomer reopens after planning battle

Dog groomer Karen Lee, in Blackrod in Bolton, Greater Manchester, has opened a new salon after her old site was closed in a planning row.  

Lee opened Hair of the Dog at a new site on New Street, moving from Manchester Road, after the council issued a notice for operating from an outbuilding without planning permission.  

The business appealed, but the Planning Inspectorate threw it out, giving it months to secure a premises. 

Lee will share the new premises with groomer Katie Gaskell, who operates as Kiss My Mutt. 

She told The Bolton News: “I was on my own for almost 10 years so it will be nice to have some company after so long. We are both excited for the future. 

“We have had a rough time with the place being shut down, but everything happens for a reason, and we have come out better on the other side so we are not bothered now.”