Plans for Andover grooming salon approved

A new dog grooming salon is set to open in Andover town centre, in Hampshire, next door to a cat café.

Proposals to convert a nail salon into a new branch of Barks ‘N’ Bubbles, in Winchester Street, have been approved.

The owners of the cat café, called Andover Catfe, objected to the plans due to fears that ‘agitated dogs making a lot of noise’ could disturb their customers.

The objection read: “We’re not dog haters and can appreciate a small business taking on an empty unit, but to open this right next to a cat café will potentially end us when we are currently bringing people from outside the town into Andover.”

It was one of only three objections received for the plans, with more than 40 residents writing to Test Valley Borough Council to express support for the proposals.

Amber Cooper, owner of Barks ‘N’ Bubbles, told the Andover Advertiser she understood the concerns raised but that she would take steps to ‘minimise noise wherever I can’.