A crèche owner is determined to fight the council in a planning dispute in the heart of Teesside suburbia.
The timber outbuilding on Malham Grove, Ingleby Barwick, is currently being used as a venue for a child-minding business.
However, a change of use application to Stockton Council was denied in 2020, and its continued use consequently triggered enforcement action from the authority.
Yet mother-of-one Holly Fitzsimons is determined to fight back, with an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate now established.
The 27-year-old has run Little Oaks from her mother's Beckfields home for over three years.
Yet disturbances arose following mixed messages received on the planning permission needed for the timber building.
Ms Fitzsimons spent £7000 in fees to to launch her opposition to the council's stance - and couldn't believe the authority was going after her.
She told Teesside Live : “It’s ridiculous really. I know the council are happy for me to child-mind - and they’re saying the building (itself) is permitted. But I thought I wouldn’t need planning permission.”
The smart timber-clad outhouse was built in 2018, costing £20,000, and features a kitchenette and play facilities.
The business owner revealed she'd spent thousands of pounds on a planning consultant, to help mount the fight.
She said: “I’m only trying to child-mind and look after my community.
“But they’re trying to bring me down to be honest. My point is - what’s the difference between a shed at the back and a conservatory in a house?”
Ms Fitzsimons insisted she was unwilling to move her business unless the authority found her another space for her work.
She said: "They're trying to say we're using the timber building purely for business - but we use the house alongside it.
“My points to them are I don’t even open 12 weeks of the year so I’m not even at the premises with the children (then). Second of all, the home is used for napping, eating and down time and, with children, that can take a long time.
“The actual amount of playing time in that building is not very long at all."
The retrospective change of use application drew two objection letters from neighbours - with worries about traffic on nearby Fountains Avenue and noise from children in the building.
In its refusal, the council argued the building had been created “for the sole purpose of being a child-minding facility” and therefore needed permission in its own right.
But there were not objections from the council environmental health or highway departments.
Ms Fitzsimons didn’t agree with the final verdict, and said the outbuilding was used regularly for family gatherings.
She said: “People have bars and pubs in their garden which are lairy - this is quiet, and on some days you’ll only have one or two children.”
She also disclosed that a significant sum had been spent on a side door to the cabin, which had now been fenced off to stop access from Fountains Avenue.
A Stockton Council spokesperson said: “A retrospective planning application for the change of use of a rear timber outbuilding for a child minding business was refused in 2020.
“The applicant did not appeal that decision. The council recently served an enforcement notice requiring the use of the outbuilding for a child-minding business to be ceased.
“This notice has been appealed and the appeal will now be determined by the Planning Inspectorate.”
Officials say the requirement to comply with the enforcement notice has been suspended for now pending the result of the appeal.
