West Lothian groomer allowed to keep home salon

Groomer Julie Buchanan has secured retrospective planning permission for her business, which is based in a cabin in her garden in Blackridge, West Lothian.

Buchanan has paid a builder to put up the cabin in her garden, believing it could be done without planning permission, but a neighbour complained that the business was bringing extra traffic into the street with cars idling and driveways being blocked. However, four other neighbours wrote to the council’s planning control committee in support of the business.

She told the planning committee that no-one sits outside with their car idling for long. She phones customers around 20 minutes before she completed the grooming to give them time to collect their pets.

The groomer said she asked customers to park in her driveway when delivering their dogs. She said there has never been incidents of other driveways in the street being blocked.

Awarding retrospective planning permission, councillors agreed to lift the restriction of the number of days could operate, but maintained that the closing time of 7pm should be retained.