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A beloved Forest Gate home baker, Fatima Yusuf, is mounting a staunch defense of her decade-old cake business, The Bakeress, after Newham Council issued a planning enforcement notice demanding she cease operations. The local council claims the residential use of her home for a commercial kitchen in Claremont Road, where she lives with her mother, constitutes an unauthorised change of use and is causing "unacceptable harm" to neighbours, despite the lack of issues for over ten years.
Livelihood Under Threat: The Council's Enforcement
The enforcement notice, issued by Newham Council in August, dictates that Ms. Yusuf must stop running her successful enterprise from her home kitchen, a business she states is her "livelihood, my only income." The Council's action followed an undisclosed neighbor complaint and an inspection by planning officers.
According to planning law, a change of use for a property, even without physical alteration to the building, requires planning permission. The Council's formal notice argues that introducing a commercial use in a residential street, outside designated commercial areas, is unauthorised and undermines the success of nearby designated centres. Crucially, the notice alleges that The Bakeress causes "unacceptable harm" to residents due to increased noise and disturbance.
Baker Fights Back with Community Support
Fatima Yusuf has refuted the claims of disruption, emphasising the small scale of her operations. "We’re literally running a small home business and the council has never had a problem for over ten years," she told reporters. She maintains that the business generates no excessive noise or car pollution.
In a powerful demonstration of local support, Ms. Yusuf has already secured 16 signatures from her neighbours who attest that her business has never caused issues with noise pollution or parking. Next-door neighbour, Cathy Stack, publicly backed Fatima, describing her and her mother as "very quiet, pleasant, amenable neighbours." Ms. Stack stated emphatically that the property remains a family home, not a "factory or a shop," and questioned the evidence of "major disruption."
The baker also raised concerns about the nature of the council's inspection, describing it as "very intrusive," noting that officers accessed private areas of the home, including the attic, bathroom, bedroom, shed, and her late father's bedroom. A council spokesperson, however, defended the thoroughness of the inspection, stating, "As is standard for such an investigation, the entire house was inspected," confirming they have a legal duty to investigate suspected changes of use.
The Battle Moves to the Government Level
In a critical next step for the future of her business, Fatima Yusuf has officially appealed the enforcement notice to the government’s Planning Inspectorate. This action puts the final decision on The Bakeress's future in the hands of an independent body.
The Planning Inspectorate will now proceed to gather evidence, seeking statements from Ms. Yusuf, Newham Council, and any other interested third parties before making a final determination. The decision on whether The Bakeress can continue to operate from Claremont Road is expected to be delivered early next year. This highly publicised case highlights the ongoing tension between local authorities enforcing planning policy and the growth of small, home-based businesses in the digital age.
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