Converting half my garage into an office?

September 9, 2012 by Chris in forum Planning Forum

#250 Chris , 9 September 2012, 16:29

Hi,
I am so confused by all the regulations, so hopefully someone can assist me.
I have been in business about 18 months and currently work out of an office in a town center. However the added expense of the monthly rent and very expensive telecoms means that I have to look at working from home.
I am a therapist and what I have looked at doing is using our double garage and splitting it in two.
There will be no outside structural changes to the garage. It will not be enlarged in any way.
The front of the garage will still have the up and over door and will serve as storage etc. The rear of the garage will be the office. The garage already has windows (3 of them) so I don't need to add any. The garage already has a rear back door, so i won't be adding anything extra.

I have looked into what would be required to satisfy building regulations.
I have had a thorough read through of the planning site of my local council and believe that I would be exempt? But it's worth checking as:
The main use of my house will remain as a family home.
People will come to the property to see me, however I only average about 8 people a week and they are with me for 90 minutes. So the volume of traffic will be extremely low. There is also off road parking available for them.
There will be no deliveries to the property, just our standard mail etc
My hours of work would be from 10:00 to 7:00PM - However, I basically only work when I have a client.
There will be no trade vehicles.
There will be no external signs or advertisements on the property.
I don't employ anyone who doesn't already live at the property.
So if there is no exterior alterations at all, will I still have to seek planning permission?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

best regards
Chris

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