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Self Build Your Own Business Property

By: June Crowe - Updated: 24 Sep 2020 | comments*Discuss
 
Self Build Self Build Costs Cattery Land

When you first take the decision to self build your own cattery there are many factors to take into consideration. First and foremost you must get planning permission from your local council. Your local council planning officer will be able to send you a list of specifications.

Deciding on Type of Structure

There are many types of cattery buildings. You can almost buy one 'off the shelf', Cattery magazines are full of advertisements for wooden structures. These would appear to be ready for use, but you will need to have foundations for the building, mains water supply, electricity and drains.

So, even the apparently ready to use cattery building will need site preparation. Some councils may not accept a wooden building as sufficient for boarding animals and could insist on a more solid structure. Always bear in mind what the regulations are before you submit any plans.

Locating Your Cattery

A cattery can be sited more or less anywhere that there is an available piece of land. The main proviso is that there has to be a property located on the same site. This is because the regulations for boarding animals state that there must be a responsible person on call at all times. If you find a building plot with planning permission you will need to live very close by.

Planning the Layout of a Cattery

The easiest way to find out your ideal layout is to visit as many catteries as possible to get a good idea of the different layouts. You will need a kitchen area with facilities for preparing food and washing up. You may also like an office/reception area to greet your clients.

A wooden off the shelf building will already have double locking doors but if you are building in brick you will need to bear in mind the cats security. There are self contained 'pods' that can be free standing within the building. The choices are wide and varied.

Self Build Costs

When you are considering self build the cost should of course be considerably lower than employing builders. One of the first costs is for your architect, if possible agree a set fee. You may need the architect to make several site visits while the build is taking place and you could find yourself with a separate bill for each visit.

You will probably need to hire a JCB to dig out the foundations and skips to remove the spoil. Unless you intend to lay the base yourself you will need ready mixed cement to be poured.

Sewage and mains water can cost up to £5000. Possibly you can have a soak away instead of sewage and that could reduce the cost. Electricity will need to be connected, in some rural areas that can be overhead which is cheaper than running cable underground. Add to these basics the cost of materials or ready made runs.

Equipping The Cattery

Before you can accept cats and open for business there are a number of things you will need. You will need a licence to board cats. This is issued by your local Environmental Council office and the cost will vary from area to area. Insurance for the building and possibly for vets fees while the cat is in your care (optional).

You will need litter trays, litter, food and food bowls. It is a good idea to give each cat run/chalet individual heated pads for the winter months, this way you only heat what is being used. If you decide to install central heating you could find you are heating the whole building when only a small portion is in use.

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[Add a Comment]
I’m interested in starting up a cat hotel/cattery. I have a garage which is connected to my house and I would like to use this to turn into the cat hotel/cattery. I would be starting from scratch and have no idea what would be the best way to do this. Any ideas or help would be appreciated
Susan - 24-Sep-20 @ 9:02 PM
Hi I am at the initial stages of looking into starting a cattery probably in either Gloucestershire or Derbyshire, I'll have an initial start up of around £250k for the property and land. What is the best way to get business loans or funding to start up this sort of venture and what would be the minimum no. of chalets for it to be a viable business?
Suzanne - 9-Feb-16 @ 11:59 AM
steph - Your Question:
Hi there, I am currently doing a animal care course and am wanting to start my own cattery, I am 20 at the moment and hope to have 60000 saved as a deposit plus my dad will be co owner putting 20000 towards the deposit into the business, would that deposit be enough to buy the land and planning permissions be enough?

Our Response:
That really depends on where you live, the availability of land and the market value of land in your location.
StartACattery - 4-Sep-15 @ 2:10 PM
Hi there, I am currently doing a animal care course and am wanting to start my own cattery, I am 20 at the moment and hope to have 60000 saved as a deposit plus my dad will be co owner putting 20000 towards the deposit into the business, would that deposit be enough to buy the land and planning permissions be enough?
steph - 4-Sep-15 @ 6:13 AM
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