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Unbelievable what sheff city council can get away with

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I rented a workshop and storage yard from city council in 2010 i told them after 2 weeks i was opening a vehicle repair business on the site which they said they would check into and let me know, they did not let me know i could not so i opened the garage 1 month later. I continued to run the garage for 2 years with no problems at all often talking to the council about my business and the repairs that needed doing on the building.in 2012 i asked the council if i could expand my business and sent them details and plans for a mot centre, 1 week later i recieved an email saying they had no problem with me extending my business as long as i check to see if i need planning permission. After talking to the planning office they told me i could not run a vehicle repair business from this site, they said i should have never been allowed to open a garage on this site from the begining and gave me 28 days to close. I have contacted a solicitor but they told me i dont have a case. Can this be right surely not when the council should have checked if i could run a vehicle repair business from this site at the very begining. Any advice would be welcome thanks.

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Did you not apply for change of purpose consent when changing it from a storage yard and workshop into a vehicle repair business?

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i did not know if i needed too thats why i told the council so they could check

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So who did you contact when you first contacted them and do you have it in writing that they would inform you if there were any problems?

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You could apply for retrospective planning permission, but I assume your solicitor would have told you that.

No idea what chance you have of getting it, but worth looking into. If you've been running for two years without complaint, then that should stand well in your favour.

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i contacted kier asset management who i rented it from but it was a phone conversation so i dont have it in writing

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Kier asset management aren't the people who decide whether you can change the purpose of the building and they should have told you so at the time. The planning department of the council trump any sort of granted or denied permission that you got verbally from Kier.

 

As Hairyloon says, the way around this is to apply retrospectively for the permission, but even the simplest of changes is at the whim of the planning people of the council responsible.

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As Hairyloon says, the way around this is to apply retrospectively for the permission, but even the simplest of changes is at the whim of the planning people of the council responsible.

 

It ought not to be on a whim, but in accordance with established principals.

Unfortunately I hear these things tend to go on whims, or alternatively on fat brown envelopes. :(

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I rented a workshop and storage yard from city council in 2010 i told them after 2 weeks i was opening a vehicle repair business on the site which they said they would check into and let me know, they did not let me know i could not so i opened the garage 1 month later. I continued to run the garage for 2 years with no problems at all often talking to the council about my business and the repairs that needed doing on the building.in 2012 i asked the council if i could expand my business and sent them details and plans for a mot centre, 1 week later i recieved an email saying they had no problem with me extending my business as long as i check to see if i need planning permission. After talking to the planning office they told me i could not run a vehicle repair business from this site, they said i should have never been allowed to open a garage on this site from the begining and gave me 28 days to close. I have contacted a solicitor but they told me i dont have a case. Can this be right surely not when the council should have checked if i could run a vehicle repair business from this site at the very begining. Any advice would be welcome thanks.

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If a solicitor says you don't have a case then it is probable that you don't.

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You better find a new site for your business and salvage what you can mate, dont throw in the towel.

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You have already raised this in another thread under employment.

 

It sounds like one part of the council is your landlord. You have done the right thing in talking to your landlord to ensure they are happy with the way you are going to use their premises. You would do this regardless of who your landlord is. Just because your landlord is happy though, doesn't mean that you have all the legal requirements in place. The landlord just wants the rent and is not bothered that you haven't done your legal checks.

 

All premises have some kind of planning consent, whether it be residential or one of the various business uses. Unless it is fairly obvious like you rent an office to do office work, in an office block, then you should check with the council planning department, before you take on a lease, to see what kind of planning consent it has and if necessary apply for change of use. For instance if you take on the lease of a florists shop and want to turn it into a take-away you would probably need change of use. I'm afraid you haven't done your homework up front and there is no point in blaming the council. All you can do is apply for change of use now, but this could take some time and may or may not be granted.

Edited by tintin123

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