Planning/permission for home business

[Neron]

DH and I are in the process of buying a house, and one of the main reasons we went for it, is the potential for me to start and build up my own business.
I'll be doing that on an ad hoc basis - weekends, some evenings as I need to stay working full time for now. It'll mean I'll have clients coming to me, about 1 an hour. Parking isn't an issue as I have plenty of space on the drive and it's a detached property so no noise nuisance (Not that there would be anyway). It is down a tiny cul 're sac though.

Does anyone else have a similar set up? Pretty sure I need to apply to the local council for planning permission, do they write and ask if neighbours object etc?

My neighbour converted half her double garage into a hair salon. I think it was Change of Use that she applied for. She went around her nearest neighbours and checked we were all okay with it first though.

Also be aware that if part of your home is used exclusively for business purposes this may have tax implications if you come to sell. You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax in proportion to the value of the business part of your home.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-residence-relief-hs283-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs283-private-residence-relief

If you are just doing it as hoc to start with, then PP for a change of use probably wouldn't be necessary. It really depends on how many clients you have per evening or over the weekend. If it is at a level when neighbours begin to notice, then PP probably would be required. You could approach the Council for advice, but IME, they will normally ask for an application just to cover their backs.

If you need to make an application, then yes the Council will either write to certainly your adjoining neighbours, and maybe slightly wider, or they may put a site notice up outside your house.

The issues the Council will consider are whether the change of use would prevent the house being used properly as a dwelling, what the impact would be on neighbours (noise, disturbance, loss of privacy or loss of any other amenity), whether the business would have any impact on highway safety (whether the road is suitable to accommodate increase in traffic, whether there is sufficient off-street parking and/or whether the road could accommodate increased levels of on-street parking).