A childminding business has been approved to operate out of a family home in Reading, Berkshire – the first of its kind to be approved by the local council.
ET Planning successfully & efficiently demonstrated the value of this development and subsequently achieved a retrospective change of use for their client.
Principle of Development
This development will see the ground floor and an outbuilding of a family home be used for a childminding business during weekday hours providing a high-quality community facility.
Use and Amount
As part of the planning permission certain conditions have been set out and agreed which are:
- The business will only operate from 7:30am to 6pm Monday to Thursday
- Friday – Sunday the site shall be solely used for residential purposes
- The number of children attending the site should not exceed 9
This means that the development protects local residents from unreasonable disturbances and is in keeping with the Reading Borough Local Plan which stipulates what type of development in the local area is acceptable and sustainable.
Relevant Policies
As part of the planning statement ET Planning referenced the Reading Borough Local Plan so as to demonstrate that this proposed development supported local policies and was acceptable in principle.
It was necessary to provide rebuttal comments to neighbour and council concerns and in doing so provide supporting evidence from the local plans and the National Planning Policy Framework.
Meeting the Conditions Tests
During the course of the application, ET Planning reviewed the economic, social and environmental impacts of the development and were able to demonstrate that there were no negative impacts on the neighbours, local community or council.
Neighbours in the local area did however raise concerns about the use of the garden space of the property and suggested that they only be used at certain times. The council then proposed a temporary permission which ET Planning were able to dismiss by using the 6 tests approach as referenced in the National Planning Policy Framework. This ensures that conditions are kept to a minimum and only used when;
- Necessary
- Relevant to planning
- Relevant to the permitted development
- Enforceable
- Precise
- Reasonable in all other respects
ET Planning evidenced that each of these areas were not satisfied and so the condition was not acceptable. Council officers subsequently agreed with this.
Conclusion and Achievements
With very little adaptations to the current site, this development addresses a wider societal need around childcare provision and will be an important community facility, as well as a family home. As such the Council officers agreed with the planning statements put forward by ET Planning and so the development was approved.
If you are a business owner and are in need of a retrospective change of use permission, get in touch with the ET Planning team today who will be able to walk you through the process to achieving this.