Building business operates from house next door

Speak to Citizen's Advice and complain to the Council again. The situation has changed with building materials being stored on site and on the road. Speak to your local councillor, he may well put pressure on the council. Complain, if necessary to your MP.

Emphasise the danger to pedestrians and children caused by these materials on the roadside.

It occurs to me that they are using domestic premises to run a business and to do that they would need planning permission - which they are very unlikely to get. Complain to the planning department about this change of use.

Thank you for your response Monica, very useful ideas, thank you. Local councillor (I’ll have to find out it is) sounds like a plan, and MP if necessary too. With the council not being too interested first time round, I did wonder if I was being unreasonable, and perhaps it’s perfectly reasonable for someone to run a building business from their home, but you’re right, the situation has changed with the materials being stored on the pavement, even though the pavement doesn’t actually go anywhere as it’s the end of the close.

The Council might be more interested if they are not paying business rates on their Council Tax!

A problem re 'running a business' from a residential property is that these days so many people work from home and/or run businesses online from home that the definition is hard to apply.. Makes it difficult for councils to act on the obvious ones without being accused of discrimination.
Worth a try of course, but taking over the pavement and parking large kerb-breaking vehicles on the pavement may be easier lines to follow. It sounds blatant. How very annoying.

The fact that the pavement doesn't actually go anywhere doesn't matter at all. It's a pavement, and as such, is for pedestrians, not the parking of lorries or storage of building materials.
If your Council is anything like ours, it'll be a total waste of time and energy contacting them, contact your local councillor (keep copies of all correspondence), and if that fails, make an appointment to meet with your MP.
Don't give in to this!

You must not give in because your house would be very difficult to sell unless your neighbours decided to buy it to expand their business!

I would take photographs of the worst parking and I agree, they should be paying business tax. Would the IR be interested I wonder?

Definitely contact your councillor. There may be Health & Safety implications as well as change of use regulations. Take photographic evidence, too, with precise dates times etc.

Fwiw, we had temporary neighbours who apparently were running some sort of business from the house. I dont know what kind as it didn't affect us in any way, but the council were hot on their trail, turning up at our door asking questions a number of times.

Thank you for your advice ladies, I do not object at all to anyone running a business from their home, many people do, but what I do not like, is the illegally parked lorry, every night and every weekend, and I don’t like the storage of building materials on the pavement and along the verge at the end of the close. At one point there were actually two lorries, but one of them is no longer there, so it no longer concerns me. The close I live in is residential, it’s not in a commercial area, there are 13 houses, that’s all that’s here. When my FiL worked for a building company, he went to ‘the yard’ every day in his car. The lorries went out from the yard to do whatever building work they were engaged in, and then returned to the yard, and FiL drove home in his own car. The parking of large lorries in residential areas lowers the quality of life for residents, a huge, dirty lorry parked outside the window, blocking any other view, is unpleasant. But as some of you have pointed out, the storage of building materials on the public footpath, is not only unpleasant and antisocial, but may very well be a danger to other people, particularly children.
I am going to take the advice given by some of you, it’s been very helpful. When after our initial complaint, the council merely told next door neighbour to move the lorry up, I was amazed, as I know that lorries over 3 and a half tonnes should not be parked in residential areas overnight. Maybe my council will turn out to be useless but I will go to my MP if necessary. I also feel our house could be devalued and difficult to sell Charleygirl, and it may be that we would want to downsize in a year or two as all our children are grown up and have flown the nest.
I have been taking photos for several months so I have plenty of evidence that this has been going on for some time. I have started by emailing the council and they have responsed by asking for the full address of the property, so hopefully they will do something about it this time. I will keep you all informed.

To run such a business from a residential place needs an Operators licence. Do they have one from the council? From what you say I would think it unlikely they would be granted one. I would investigate if I were you Good luck and be persistent

Just an addition if it’s a small close and you ve been there 30 years I m expecting that you know a number of the neighbours fairly well, what do they think? there’s health in numbers

Have you checked your house deeds are if it says anything about running a business from your home. If there is something in yours there's bound to be the same clause in theirs

You have pictures and stuff?

Fastest way to put a rocket up them is to contact HMRC.

I have past experience in that field and I would be absolutely certain not all their tax affairs are in sparkling order given how they are using their premises.

The threat of the “VAT man” will do the trick. Plus HMRC will not reveal you are their source for the investigation.

I would try that first amd see if anything results before trying the council planning department again.

As others have said many people run businesses from home, they should have change of use to do that but councils tolerate it as long as it does not annoy neighbours.
Just one neighbour is not going to make them take action, you need concerted action and the support of your local councillor then things might move.
Get all your neighbours together and insist on a meeting with your councillor on site, you might be surprised.

One person complaining is enough to send planning officials round to check.

This happened to a friend who was having her chimney repointed. Her neighbour (with whom she had had problems) rang the council to say that she was putting an extension up without planning permissio, Three planning people turned up the next day.

I wish our council was so efficient. We’ve complained again, and the wheels are slowly grinding. It seems we have to make a diary of what’s been going on, which they are going to send to me. I can email my many photos to them. We also have to deal with two departments, planning and environmental. I can’t see any quick resolution. Today they were mixing cement up outside on the road. The lady who is supposed to be dealing with it was ‘on leave’ when I phoned today. Apparently she will ring me back on Monday, well we’ll see if that happens.
If we don’t start to move towards a resolution, I will contact my MP as suggested. I’ve avoided HMRC up till now, makes me feel a bit mean, and maybe they are paying their taxes, who knows? But I’ll hold it in reserve just in case nothing else works.