Pet shop seeks fresh start with its lease running out

A FAMILY-RUN pet shop which opened in Sonning Common 20 years ago is planning a move into a larger space.

Nikki Dobson owns the Pet Barn and wants to move it into a new space at Manor Farm. She has submitted a planning application to South Oxfordshire District Council.

Ms Dobson, 60, who runs the business with daughter Danni Moreau, 32, and nephew Adam, 35, said she started searching for a new space after she was told her lease wouldn’t be renewed past November 2028.

The current 1,800 sq ft shop was converted from a residential house when Ms Dobson took on the lease in 2005.

She said: “Danni was 12 and we had everyone coming here, the kids were painting the walls and, when we got here, every single thing was second-hand.

“We went to shops that were closing down and we just begged and borrowed everything we could to start on a really tiny budget.”

Ms Moreau said they saw the end of their business’s lease as an opportunity to expand and give them the opportunity to install designated office, storage and staff room spaces.

She said: “Since day one, the locals around here have been absolutely amazing, so supportive and they have stuck with us for years. When we were told that we weren’t going to have our lease renewed on this place we thought, right, we’re going to have to do something now.

“The most important thing to us was that the new shop will be down the road. We don’t want to let any of our customers down, we want to keep our customer base.”

Plans submitted to the district council propose fitting the barn-style shed with a 2,249 sq ft shop area, with 15 customer parking spaces and four for staff and a delivery bay. It also includes two office spaces, a staff room, store room, outdoor covered staff area and staff amenities.

Ms Moreau said: “We’ve got to keep the same feel to this building because this is a bit old, a bit cosy, whereas we would be going to a new, modern building. We want to keep that nice, cosy feeling, so it’s not like a warehouse.”

Ms Moreau said the new space will allow them to continually introduce new stock. She said: “Every couple of years we try to introduce something new, so we’ve got dog weighing scales, which are free to use.

“We also have Equafleece, a fleece for dogs. It covers their legs so when you take them for a walk they don’t get muddy, and they have been popular.

“They didn’t want to represent their brand with just anybody, they wanted to know that those who were representing it were going to be the correct people. We spent a couple of days with them training, fitting, because the fitting process is rather difficult, everything has to be fitted.

“They’re really proud of their product so no dog walks out with an ill-fitting coat.”

For the past 17 years, the business has also sold its own brand of dog food, Pet Barn Super Premium, which has since expanded to five brands.

Ms Moreau said: “We started it because a lot of brands were charging the earth for what was worth just £2.

“So, we brought this out because we couldn’t afford to buy the things that were on the shelf. It just flies off the shelf now.”

If the planning application is successful, Ms Moreau said she hopes to have the new shop fitted out and ready to open by the end of next year.

She said: “I grew up here. We came here after school, I helped lay this carpet which is now rather tired, but it’s what we had and it’s what we made do with.

“Leaving this place is going to be very sad but I do believe we have reached our capacity here, we can’t necessarily expand like we would like to in this building.

“We have tried. We do our best and we move things around but [we need] more space, and more convenient space as well.

“It will be so sad, and guarantee there will be tears, but it feels like the right thing to do.”

The district council hopes to reach a decision by Thursday, November 6.