A cattery near Alton wants to stay open purr-manently after being granted temporary permission three years ago.

April Carr, owner of Longcroft Luxury Cat Four Marks, has applied for permanent planning permission for the ‘cat hotel’. The 4.340 by 10.98 metre building at 12 Fairfield Green in Four Marks is in her home’s secluded rear garden.

The cattery is open 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and houses up to 12 cats within the seven-room ‘hotel’. A cat’s average stay is 10 days, with a customer using the hotel an average of four times a year, a supporting statement submitted with the application said.

Abi Purser, founder of the award-winning Longcroft Luxury Cat Hotels concept of which Mrs Carr’s business is part of, said: ”[Longcroft] has provided a low-key, high quality, niche service for cat owners requiring short-term accommodation for their cats since 2010. Longcroft serves those not wishing to use conventional catteries which generally cater for large numbers of cats in small environments.”

According to the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA), in 2022 there were 12 million cats in the UK. Ownership was estimated at 11 million in 2019/22 with 28 percent of UK households owning one –  though there were only about 2,000 catteries. 

The PFMA said there were around 19,000 household cats in East Hampshire.

The supporting statement said the cat hotel building is similar to Blue Cross and RSPCA cat pens. It is made from uPVC, glass panels, a double-glazed shuttering system to the front outer corridor, is fully insulated and has a heat-reflective roof.

There are currently 31 of the ‘cat hotels’ across the UK including Liphook, Bury St Edmunds, Sheffield and Tring. 

The application form added waste is collected by a private company every other Tuesday. The council will decide application reference 59097/004 by December 10.