Sweet & snack shop run from home

McKneff

If you still want to do some baking, making sweeties etc., why not negotiate with some local shops so that they will do the selling for yuo.

You could always be in your garden when people pass by for a chat.

wendy4

McKneff wrote: »

If you still want to do some baking, making sweeties etc., why not negotiate with some local shops so that they will do the selling for yuo.

You could always be in your garden when people pass by for a chat.

I used to do that stand by my gate,make a fuss of peoples dogs so the owners would talk to me ...so sad lol

[Deleted User]

Hi,

wendy4 wrote: »

oh well if it doesn`t work out i will have to take up knitting lol

wonder what the rules would be if you just had an honesty box, pretty sure most of the walkers would be honest enough.

im-lost

wendy4 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply, I know a lot of people won`t believe that i dont see it as residential but more of a hobby that i enjoy but as i have now retired to me that is what it is, i dont care if i dont make a profit( another thing nobody will believe ) but obviously dont want to make a loss.
From what i have read it looks like i will have to stop because i can`t handle the stress and its not worth it.
I cant afford legal advice which is why i had to rely on friends and the internet.
And yes i have registered as self employed.
And also it is not really a residential area as it is semi rural with only a few homes with quite a distance between them.

It matters not how you see it, you are buying / making stuff to sell, by definition you are a business. If you haven't declared the earnings to hmrc, then expect a visit / letter / inspection once the council passes your details on, and they will.

Again whether you make a profit or not doesn't matter, you are a business, plenty of businesses make little to no profit or a loss in the early days.

You can of course trade from private land with the landowners permission, but the fact you have converted residential property in to a part commercial property is where the problem.

There's nothing stopping you from setting up in say a burger van type of affair, on private land, and trading like that.

Whether there's rules that govern the use of a residential property to trade like that, I don't know, but a lot of privately owned land can be used in such a way.

You can even apply for a street traders licence from the council, and trade pretty much anywhere, subject to certain exclusions that councils have.

Mistral001

Looks like the OP has gone to a lot of expense and trouble meeting a lot of requirements but forgot about the Planning Laws. Is there not a possibility of just applying for Planning Permission and taking it from there? It might not be sucessful, but you will not know unless you try. Looks like you are giving up at the last hurdle.

Savvy_Sue

If it were just the planning permission, it might be worthwhile (but there are costs involved), however it looks as if she would be liable to pay rates on the bedroom being used for refreshments, UNLESS she can show that it's not exclusively for business use.

It would be worth a phone call to the planning dept: I found ours very helpful when we realised belatedly at work that we needed change of use for a building which had been residential but which we were using for offices.

paddyrg

Does putting a caravan in the garden and using the house as a house make any difference? Your local planning office might not be all adversarial, especially when you show you just want to provide a missing service for walkers, not start an empire.

I guess part of the problem is if you're using domestic rated services for commercial activity, ie people are using your loo!

wendy4

im-lost wrote: »

It matters not how you see it, you are buying / making stuff to sell, by definition you are a business. If you haven't declared the earnings to hmrc, then expect a visit / letter / inspection once the council passes your details on, and they will.

Again whether you make a profit or not doesn't matter, you are a business, plenty of businesses make little to no profit or a loss in the early days.

You can of course trade from private land with the landowners permission, but the fact you have converted residential property in to a part commercial property is where the problem.

There's nothing stopping you from setting up in say a burger van type of affair, on private land, and trading like that.

Whether there's rules that govern the use of a residential property to trade like that, I don't know, but a lot of privately owned land can be used in such a way.

You can even apply for a street traders licence from the council, and trade pretty much anywhere, subject to certain exclusions that councils have.

It is private land,i own the land and the house not even got a mortgage

Savvy_Sue

wendy4 wrote: »

Family and friends told me that i wouldn`t need planning permision nobody official but also done research on the internet and went by this - ( cut and pasted from the planning departments website )

Working from Home

You do not necessarily need planning permission to work from home. The key test is whether the overall character of the dwelling will change as a result of the business. If the answer to any of the following questions is "yes", then permission will probably be needed:

Will your home no longer be used mainly as a private residence-= NO- 4 Bedroom bungalow and only using 1 bedroom
Will your business result in a marked rise in traffic or people calling? - NO too far away for people to come just for sweets only customers would be here anyway.
Will your business involve any activities unusual in a residential area?- NO Limited opening hours for a few hours in the afternoon
Will your business disturb your neighbours at unreasonable hours or create other forms of nuisance such as noise or smells?NO Not doing any cooking or attracting people who wouldn`t be here otherwise + no neighbours
Will you need to extend your house specifically to accommodate the new business? - No just using one spare bedroom.

But do remember that the permission generally goes with the property, IYSWIM, so the planners will be looking forward as well as dealing with the current situation.

Your isolated property might not be that attractive for a 'normal' A1 shop, but someone might have a bright idea for something very niche for which your spare bedroom / shop would be perfect. And that might be less than acceptable to the planners.

Anyway, you say you've had an enforcement notice. You do need to do something with that ... I'd start by phoning the planning dept and see what they say.

wendy4

Anyway, you say you've had an enforcement notice. You do need to do something with that ... I'd start by phoning the planning dept and see what they say.

I have contacted the planning office with all the information and got this email = Thank you for the information. I will discuss the situation with my senior officer to determine whether planning permission will be required in this instance. We may require further details from you to assess this. I hope to be in touch soon.

Thank you for your cooperation in resolving this matter.

Regards,
So just have to wait now