Local authority maximum numbers
Hi, other than ofsted ratio requirements, does anyone else here have any requirements imposed upon them re numbers from their local council? Where I live we have to send off info to the council about how many rooms you use for your business, how many kids you plan to care for at one time, how many of your own kids you have, then they assess whether you need to apply for planning permission or not. My council has said that if I have more than 6 kids total (including my own 2) then I would have to apply for formal planning permission for "change of use of the building". But the application alone would cost nearly £400!!! It's so frustrating, as I see so many CMs with about 8-10 kids, but I'm so restricted. Now whilst it's not currently a problem as most of my spaces are taken up with EY children, it does mean that EVERY child, even over-8s, take up a space at my setting, which has implications for things like school hols, and whether people need to pay retainers to hold spaces open for their over-8s etc. Anyone else have this issue at all? Should I just bite the bullet and pay up, get planning permission and then no longer worry about numbers? Also, what are the implications of not applying for planning permission when you're supposed to? Is it breaking the law? Could I be shut down? I wonder how many CMs who've been working for years haven't even worried about it because they don't know it applies to them now.
xxxx