ANITA Benn has owned and run the Leongatha Cattery and Kennels for the last six years and last week, to the dismay of her loyal and regular clients, the Council shut it down.
Two years ago, Anita had applied for the appropriate permits through Council to extend the cattery and kennels from ten to twenty bays. The Council subsequently approved the permit and Anita went ahead with the extension.
In December 2024, Council Officers came to check the build and also tested a nearby pond that is part of the yard, for contamination.
While the pond is man made, it receives water run off from a nearby paddock and from another South Gippsland Water drain. All sources collectively then run into Coal Creek and eventually the Tarwin River. They tested the pond in three spots.
“So, the middle came up as being contaminated, which could be ducks, birds, dogs, it can be all sorts of things,” said Anita.
However, Council Officers said they believed that the contamination was coming from the kennels, and insisted Anita upgrade all her plumbing from the original building and get new tanks with overflow alarms on them.
Then, two weeks ago Council officers informed Anita that the pond could lead to contamination of water processed for human consumption and subsequently demanded that she send all the animals back to their owners and cancel all future bookings. Some of the animal owners were overseas, which made the demand impossible to comply with.
Despite having approved her building application two years ago, the officers informed Anita that she also needed further permits for a site plan showing plumbing for the new building.
“Now, that’s not my fault. That’s Council’s fault and $200,000 later I’m the one copping their problems,” said Anita.
Anita is happy to comply with the Council demands, but according to her, miscommunication together with a lack of communication from the Council Officers is making that difficult, to the point that
Anita (and her plumber) are unclear about what upgrades actually need to be undertaken.
Council have also gone through the business and demanded upgrades of items within the kennels, some that don’t align with industry standards, according to Anita.
Anita has 2700 clients on the books and when they discovered that Council had closed down the business, were dismayed, with many offering help on the spot.
Anita expressed deep gratitude to all her clients for robustly supporting her through and offering their help – despite having to cancel their bookings.
“I want to thank the community. They’re standing by me. A couple rang me this morning and said, do you want us to pay for our Christmas four-week holiday now, so you’ve got money to continue with work? And that’s what’s keeping me positive and going,” said Anita.
Anita is doing everything she can to comply with Council’s demands and is hoping she will be able to reopen by June 1.
In responses to the Sentinel-Times, South Gippsland Shire stated on Monday: “Council has issued a Prohibition Notice and an Improvement Notice pursuant to the Environment Protection Act 2017 (Vic) to the landowner and business owner at 70 Hughes Street. These notices have been issued based on an investigation (including obtaining independent analysis) which revealed that wastewater disposal is not operating effectively and presents a risk to human health and the environment. Council has not taken this action lightly and is working with the landowner and business owner with the hope that the matter is resolved as soon as possible.”
