The building
At the bottom of our client's garden in Colchester is a brick garage with a tiled roof, about 9 metres long. They wanted to run a dog grooming business from home, using part of it. That meant changing the use of that part from a building ancillary to the house to a small business use, which falls outside the use classes (sui generis).
The proposal
Only part of the building changes use. The half nearest the garden, about 3.2 by 4 metres with its own glazed door and windows, becomes the grooming room, and the other half stays as a garage. Nothing changes outside: no building work and no change to the garage's appearance. We drew the plans and elevations, a site layout showing house parking, a designated customer parking space and a dog waste bin, and a supporting statement covering flood risk, road safety records, parking and the relevant Colchester Local Plan policies.
The business was set up to keep things low-key for the neighbours:
- one person working alone, by appointment only, with one dog at a time
- no kennels, outdoor waiting pens or exercising in the garden
- set hours of 9am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 4pm on Saturdays
The outcome
Colchester City Council granted planning permission. Our client can now run their business from a dedicated room at home, while keeping the rest of the garage for storage.
