An enforcement order from Fermanagh and Omagh District Council prohibiting dog exercise in a field at Old Mountfield Road, Omagh, has been overturned. The decision followed complaints from local residents about noise from barking dogs.
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Mechtild ‘Mitch’ Charisus, owner of Tyrone Pet Services, had been using the field for nearly a year with the owner's consent. In April, the council’s planning department issued an enforcement notice requiring her to stop using the field, citing the necessity for a formal change-of-use application from agricultural use, a requirement Ms. Charisus claimed she was not aware of.
Following her appeal to the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC), Commissioner Gareth Kerr visited the field twice. In his ruling, he noted that World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines indicate acceptable noise levels in urban areas are 55 decibels (dB). The measured sound impact of dog barking was found to be only 4 dB above this threshold.
Kerr remarked that complaints were relatively low, suggesting most residents were not significantly disturbed. He emphasized that barking occurred mainly at the start of exercise sessions, was intermittent, and noted that surrounding noise from road traffic dominated the area. He concluded that the dog exercise activity did not represent a material change of use that would negatively impact residential amenity.