Friday September 4th 2026
House in Shiel Hall Circle, Rosewell, is set to open a hair salon in the garden
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Marie Sharp
Hairdressers, beauty salons and dog groomers have become common home-based businesses in Midlothian’s residential areas, planners have revealed.
A report into an application for a hair salon in the garden of a house in one village, says small customer-based services are now part of modern housing estates with many proving successful.
And it points out the local authority’s own policy supports home based businesses that can operate “without detriment to local residents with regard to noise, disturbance, traffic movement, visual intrusion and other forms of pollution”.
Speaking about the move towards providing services in back gardens or homes, planning officers said: “Single person businesses operating from residential properties and dealing with visiting clients are common features of modern suburban developments.
“Examples of such businesses include hairdressers, beauty salons, fitness businesses, dog grooming and childminding, with many businesses operating successfully within Midlothian.”
The application for the hair salon required an outbuilding to be placed in the back garden of a property on Shiel Hall Circle, Rosewell with plans for a single staff member providing appointments for up to five clients a day.
No objections were lodged against the proposal and planning officers said it was small enough not to impact the neighbours.
Approving the application they said: “The scale of the proposed business, alongside the proposed method of operating (means) there are no concerns in relation to road safety or adverse parking impacts as a result.
“The application site benefits from a private driveway, with additional on-street parking facilities within close proximity. The planning authority is satisfied that the proposed business can operate at this location without having an impact on the residential character and amenity of the
surrounding area.”
Meanwhile a separate application for a beauty salon in the garden of a property in Paradykes Avenue, Loanhead was refused by planners over its size and scale.
The proposed salon was proposed to operate six days a week with four staff working on rotation and an estimated three clients and three employees there at any given time.
Loanhead Community Council objected to the application saying the salon was too large for the residential area and operating hours would impact on residents privacy and peace.
Officers refused planning permission saying the ‘intensity’ of the salon would be better suited to a commercial site.
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