Home baker shuts cake shed over 'ridiculous' rules

A home baker has said she has closed her cake shed because council rules could cost her hundreds of pounds to get a street trading licence.

Natalie Brook, 37, has sold cakes from her garden in Rhodesia, in Nottinghamshire, since January.

But recently, cake shed owners have said they have been told by Bassetlaw District Council they needed a licence, costing £1,007, or they could face a £1,000 fine.

The council said it had decided people selling cakes in this way fell under its street trading policy, and while it is aimed mostly at bigger businesses, it cannot make exceptions.

But for Natalie, who has been baking cakes on the weekend, the cost of a licence means it is no longer worth opening.

She said she was not directly contacted by the council - believing she may have missed a visit from officers - but had been informed by other cake shed owners in the area.

"It feels like a lot," she added.

"I understand that other businesses have to pay these licences for burger vans or whatever, but they're on actual streets. This is in my garden.

"We are not serving hundreds of people. I could understand if it was a lower amount, but £1,007 to sell a few cakes at the weekend, just seems ridiculous."

Natalie said she would have to sell about 500 cakes to pay for the licence for the cake shed and start to make a profit.

Instead, she will now trial offering a pre-order service from her house, where customers can place an order to collect at the weekend, but she remains unconvinced.

"I find it bizarre I can sell from my front door, but not from my shed, which is less than a metre away from my front door," she added.

"People can afford a couple of pounds on a cake, and if that is what they're using for a little treat during a cost of living crisis, then that's amazing, and I want to be a part of that.

"It makes me sad that the council is trying to take that away."

Sally Bruce, 49, has been running a cake shed from her home in Carlton in Lindrick, in Nottinghamshire, for about a year, where her "cookie pies" are particularly popular.

She said she was assured by the council she did not need a licence when she opened, and she had paid for other requirements, like a DBS check and commercial waste management.

But said she had a visit from an enforcement officer last Friday, who told her she would have to stop trading from her cake shed immediately and apply for a licence.

This is her full-time job, and she said it was likely she would apply for a licence to be able to stay open.

She accepted, particularly for those like her doing it as a full-time job, they should pay something to the council, but felt the amount was "excessive".

"A fair compromise would be something a bit more tailored to what we actually do and what we offer," she said.