Nail salon overcomes complaints

A North Herefordshire woman has finally been given permission to run a nail bar from a room in her house, a year and a half after an anonymous complaint.

Jessica Moreton applied in January for planning application to confirm she can use a room in her Masefield Close home in Ledbury for her nail business, Nailed It with Jess.

This followed a visit the previous July by a Herefordshire Council enforcement officer over a complaint from a neighbour – though she was not told what the complaint referred to.

Her planning application was only validated in May before comments on it were sought.

The council’s highways officer wanted to know how many bedrooms were at the property, how many parking spaces were allocated to it, and whether one of these was specifically for customers.

There was no response from other officials, the town council or residents.

Planning officer Amber Morris concluded that, as Miss Moreton’s plan involved no changes to the outside of her property, and with the business not being its “dominant use” nor “inherently noisy”, it had little impact on neighbours.

She also dismissed the parking issue, saying that with the house lying in the town centre, customers could reach it on foot or by public transport, or by parking in car parks within walking distance.

With no other outstanding issues, the application for retrospective planning permission was approved.