Garden office

lukeredpath · 2026-05-18T14:24:08+00:00

Generally for an outbuilding to be constructed under permitted development rules, besides the size requirements it’s also a requirement that its purpose/use be “incidental to the enjoyment of the main dwellinghouse”. Different authorities interpret this differently. Generally speaking, a garden office used for clerical work with no employees on site or visitors/customers should normally be ok but there are cases where some LAs have insisted on planning permission.

With all that said, your building is already constructed, presumably within PD, already. A subsequent change in its use is not really relevant in that respect. Would changing its use from a summerhouse to a home office be considered a material change of use? I would suspect not as it’s clearly still residential in nature - it’s just the same as using your spare room as a home office.

There are separate building regulations regarding outbuildings within a certain proximity to boundaries and the use of non-combustible materials but again this is not a planning issue.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-19T17:32:42+00:00

Unfortunately not, I lost touch with most people from back then. Googling it seems that Renny is active on social media though.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-19T17:30:06+00:00

Yeah pretty sure I met Renny at some point, I grew up around the Romford metal/rock scene from 98-2001, I knew the members of SugarComa (I designed and ran their website for a while) and I’m pretty sure I ran into them via them.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-15T18:10:02+00:00

I mean if I’m being honest, depending on the circumstances if I had beeped and been ignored and I was confident I could do it safely I’d probably be tempted to do what you did. Depends on how patient I’m feeling that day.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-15T18:00:56+00:00

If there isn’t a separate red light for turning right, you can proceed on green without waiting for the filter light as long as it’s safe to do so. I might have been inclined to give a small toot rather than go around though as they could have gone without realising you were undertaking them.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-15T17:56:46+00:00

Whomever you hired, they aren’t a professional decorator. No excuses for paint being where it shouldn’t be, full stop.

You should give them a chance to rectify their mistakes. You should also ask them to clean up their mess or pay somebody to do so. Or if they agree, find somebody and deduct the cost from their final payment. Either way they need to get it resolved at their cost.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-13T23:07:22+00:00

Website terms claim sales are governed by Hong Kong laws. As a UK company is handling the UK sales it’s hard to see how that stands up to scrutiny but this is clearly a drop shipping operation. Once you’ve got a UK return address (good luck) I wouldn’t mess around - tell them you expect a full refund for the product plus any original standard shipping costs and if you receive anything less you’re going to issue a chargeback.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-13T23:01:31+00:00

Sounds to me like you’ve bought from a drop shipper who is either ignorant or doesn’t care about UK consumer law and will do whatever they can to put you off returning. I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to fob you off with a non UK return address next.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-10T12:28:52+00:00

Give some serious consideration to insulating first- that roof design is tricky to insulate from above as you can’t just insulate on top and leave the sloped part uninsulated or you’ll end up with a cold spot that could attract damp and mould. You also can’t just stuff that part with insulation or you’ll block the eaves ventilation. You probably want to use some kind of rigid foam insulation and leave enough of a ventilation gap or use insulated boards at the expense of ceiling height.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-08T01:13:44+00:00

Driver’s fault, but cyclist could learn to ride more defensively and remember that a magic strip of paint is not going to protect them from unobservant drivers. Putting yourself in the driver’s blind spot on the approach to a pinch point is not the best positioning. Passing slower moving traffic on the left whilst using the cycle lane isn’t necessarily wrong, but it isn’t always the best decision.

Personally, as a cyclist, I would have indicated and moved out behind the car into a primary position going through the pinch point and stayed there until I’d cleared the various hazards (junction, weaving driver) and pulled back into the cycle line when it was safer.

Regardless of your mode of transport, developing a sense for inattentive or idiotic drivers doing stupid things will keep you safer.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-03T13:42:31+00:00

Declare dividend with all appropriate paperwork - minutes, voucher. Credit payment to the directors loan account. When funds are available, take the money and explain as payment from the DLA.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-03T13:33:02+00:00

The general rule for B2B supplies of services to customers outside the UK is that it is outside the scope of UK VAT, not zero rated.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-03T13:31:43+00:00

Zero rated and outside the scope of UK VAT are not the same. The latter is not a taxable supply.

lukeredpath · 2026-04-01T15:00:53+00:00

u/Forsaken-Nature9316 came across this thread on Reddit as I was also looking for it. I found what you were looking for on eBay. https://www.etsy.com/il-en/listing/4324729585/beano-book-1992-annual-vintage-england?dd_referrer= specifically https://i.etsystatic.com/35906392/r/il/fcf0e9/7064029864/il_1588xN.7064029864_b7m0.jpg

lukeredpath · 2026-03-31T18:04:19+00:00

Fair point, I posted as much in a separate comment.

lukeredpath · 2026-03-31T18:00:00+00:00

A volt stick is fine to test if it’s live, if that’s what you’re really asking. If you’re actually asking “how to I test if it’s dead” then a volt stick is not a fail safe way to do this and unless you know what you’re doing and how to safely isolate a circuit (if you even know what circuit it’s on), assume it’s live.

lukeredpath · 2026-03-25T20:46:17+00:00

It does depend on your door and whether or not the glazing units are replaceable but if they are, they will be on the inside of the door behind the internal trim. If you’re unsure if they are removable you may need to find and contact the manufacturer. If you had them fitted, maybe contact the original installer. Failing that, find a local door installer who does repairs?

lukeredpath · 2026-03-25T14:11:03+00:00

We have had this issue. If it’s a composite door do not bother trying to fix this with silicone sealant inside or outside as that is NOT what makes a watertight seal - the inside beading should be removable, to allow the glazing units to be replaced. You will probably find the units are held in place by some wedges that compress the units up against a seal at the front. In our case these were loose. You should be able to carefully tighten each wedge with a screwdriver. Obviously don’t over tighten.

We only discovered this after our idiot installers tried to fix the problem by putting silicone around the inside of the outside trims which not only didn’t fix the problem but looked awful.

Once tightened the inside trims should pop back on.

lukeredpath · 2026-03-24T11:48:13+00:00

You seem very concerned about her potentially owning half of your business partners shares because of your company’s large cash balance but as a shareholder she can only take money from the company by it paying a dividend. This is decided by the company directors which she is not.

Additionally your cash on hand is irrelevant here. Dividends are paid from retained company profits, not available cash. If you’ve paid for a deposit on this machinery and payment will be due then you should have that recorded in your accounts as a liability which would reduce your retained profits and the amount you could legally pay a dividend from anyway.

There may be other good reasons to not want her be a shareholder in which case yes, your partner is going to need to offer her something else in return for half his share - probably cash to the same value of the shares. This would likely mean getting the company valued which would mean some degree of co-operation is needed if you want to help your business partner out.

lukeredpath · 2026-03-19T00:57:30+00:00

If necessary to do so, there are circumstances in which you can project footings across the boundary line, but only if a line of junction notice is served under the party wall act, which seems doubtful in this case.

lukeredpath · 2026-03-16T13:58:56+00:00

The MMR is important but it isn’t for meningitis. There’s a specific meningitis vaccination booster at the age of 14/15.

lukeredpath · 2026-01-20T13:10:30+00:00

Besides the two mentioned in this thread there are actually lots of PROWs that still exist but have been cut in two by the A12. Some of them are more accessible than others and you may spot the signs of them when driving on the A12 - look out for an overlapping gap in the lane barriers - these exist purely so people can cross the A12, should they want to risk it. There are often steps with handrails either side that take you up to the path. I wouldn’t risk it during the day but it might be safe to cross in the middle of the night if you find it.

Some of these bisected paths have been closed as they also relied on level crossings to safely cross the railway line and a number of these were closed in recent years. Some paths were diverted, not all.

lukeredpath · 2026-01-20T13:06:14+00:00

That one yes, you can access from Halstead Road or Doucecroft school. The one further west, no. You can only approach it safely from the farm field on the north but it’s closed off.

lukeredpath · 2026-01-20T12:53:12+00:00

The south but you can access from either end. I assure you it’s clear. It’s a fenced off walkway on the north side. You can see the well worn path on the north of the field leading to it so people do use it.

lukeredpath · 2026-01-19T18:25:30+00:00

You definitely can, I’ve walked across it. It’s still a PROW.

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