Planning consent granted for fourth dog-grooming salon in Galashiels town centre

Lyndsey Tait, of Gala Park in Galashiels, has been given the go-ahead by council officers to convert 9A Bank Street into a canine pampering business also selling dog accessories.

Her shop, to be called Short Bark and Sides, will join an already-crowded pet-grooming marketplace in Galashiels, following Waggles in Market Place, Joni’s Dog Grooming Studio in Abbotsview Drive and K-9 Grooming, in Bank Street too. There’s also Head and Tails Dog Grooming, a mobile service catering for canines in their own homes from its base in the town’s Magdala Terrace.

Short Bark and Sides will take over premises formerly occupied by the Craft It arts and supplies shop.

Lyndsey, currently a pharmacy assistant, said: “Me and my partner already care for four dogs and two cats, much to my partner’s disdain, and all have been inherited or come from shelters.

“I really fancied a change of career. I wanted something completely different and, already being a pet owner, I thought this would be perfect.

“I think there is demand here. Everyone you see in Galashiels is walking a dog.

“We’re also going to be selling handmade leads and belts for dogs, which I’ll be making myself.”

Fellow grooming shop owner Steven Wilson, boss of nearby K-9 Grooming, says that business has been booming since he opened six weeks ago.

“When I first applied for permission to open this shop, the council rejected my application on the grounds that there wasn’t enough footfall to justify my business plan, but here I am, six weeks in, and I have 60 people who have registered their pets with me from Jedburgh, Selkirk, all over the Borders and further afield, so there’s a demand for business.”

Approving Lyndsey’s bid, planning officer Carlos Clarke said: “Though consent was granted for a dog-grooming salon further up Bank Street earlier this year, and there is at least one other dog-grooming salon in the town centre, the number of these businesses is relatively low and there is no risk of saturation.

“Competition between them is not a planning matter.”

“Unlike the grooming salon approved further down the street, this property is not within the core activity area.”