Cake sheds are making bakers £1,000 a week - but the dream might be over

Cake sheds are becoming something of a Great British tradition.

You may have noticed one pop up near you. These small, cupboard-like "sheds" are usually jam-packed with home-baked goods that you help yourself to, and for which you are trusted to pay through an honesty box system.

Packed with cookies, brownies, old-school sprinkle cakes or lemon drizzle, they are usually found in front gardens, on driveways or by the roadside.

For some, the sheds are a side-hustle, while for others they're a booming business opportunity. But as the movement grows the sheds are coming under increasing scrutiny from some council officials.

"They are definitely becoming a feature in our landscape and are spreading from the countryside to the urban environment," says Bronya Seifert of Daisy Cake Company. "It's wonderful."

But the sweet trend could be under threat in some parts of the country, as some councils are considering enforcing tighter licensing rules.

Some dedicated cake shedders say if this happens they could be forced to close down.

One cake shed community online said it was getting up to 400 new members on Facebook a week.

"Over the past few months the group has grown exponentially," says Susanne Niess, of That's Cake by Susanne.

Danielle Edgington set up her cake shed in Kings Heath, Birmingham, eight months ago and it's proved so popular she has quit her job as a catering manager to work on it full time.

Before that she'd been selling her baked goods at markets, having launched a business during the Covid pandemic delivering afternoon teas and birthday cakes. She set up the shed to sell any spares.

"It's taken over my life," said the 41-year-old, who has been a chef for 20 years.

"I'd get up, I'd go to work in the morning and then I'd come home. I'd be baking all evening. So it just became too much.

"I've just not been able to keep up with the demand so I've decided to go full-time."

The Lavender Cake Shed now brings in between £500 to £1,000 a week, with customers flocking from neighbouring towns like Redditch and Solihull to Danielle's quiet suburban road to sample her goods.

"It's a lot of cake," she said.

Demand is so high, the shed is open seven days a week from 09:00-21:00 BST - and Danielle credits much of the interest to her TikTok account.

"I've got quite a big social media presence. I'll get messages off customers saying 'What have you got in the shed today? Because we are travelling from a bit further out.'

"To see a queue out there is just unbelievable. It's quite humbling really to see."

Mother-of-two Charley Coleman-Pollard opened her cake shed a year ago as an extension to her baking business, which she has been operating for eight years.

The response in her village in Castlethorpe, Milton Keynes, has been huge.

"They think it's amazing. It's their weekly goodies and they are supporting a local business as well," the 28-year-old said.

"I don't like doing the prices too high or too low, all my profit has gone back into the shed. So I've not actually got anything out of it myself."

Her Something Different's Cake Shed is open on Friday and Saturdays, which gives her flexibility with childcare - a common theme with many women running cake sheds.

"A lot of mums are doing it as a full-time job," Charley said. "They're just popping up absolutely everywhere. There's hundreds around the country now."

But red tape is now threatening the future of many bakers' culinary creations as some councils in England are reviewing their street trading policies, and questioning whether cake sheds should require a licence.

Street trading is regulated under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, which states if you want to sell or offer for sale anything in a street, you must have a street trading licence or street trading consent.

What are the requirements for opening a cake shed?

In Nottinghamshire, council officials have even suggested they should receive a slice of any money being made.

Earlier this month, several cake shed owners in the area were told they must fork out more than £1,000 on a street trading licence or face a fine of a similar amount.

Heather Price, of The Retford Bakeshed, was one of eight owners to receive the letter from Bassettlaw District Council.

"A licensing enforcement officer arrived and hand delivered a notice to say I needed a street trading license," Heather said. "I was flabbergasted."

At a council meeting earlier this week, no decision was reached on how to move forward and further consideration on its street trading policy was requested.

A spokesperson said as a concensus could not be reached on the council's approach, enforcement would continue to be paused and a further report would be prepared.

In the meantime, Heather continues to run her shed in tandem with doing her full-time job.

She has all the necessary paperwork to sell her cakes and gets a buzz from her customers who buy from her once a week.

She said choosing a cake had become something of a weekend ritual for many in her local community.

"We have a little camera inside, you see a little happy dance," Heather said. "They're opening the doors with glee to see what there is this week.

"I've just had lots of support, lots of happy smiles."

She said it would not be viable for her to continue if she was required to get a street trading licence due to the extra costs involved.

"Those extra requirements in themselves are too expensive to make it worthwhile," she said.

"I love baking. I love making things for people. It was a good way of sharing my baking with the community."

Meanwhile, Danielle - who had already registered her business with her local authority and holds a level three food safety and hygiene certificate - is seeking clarification on whether she might be required to have a street trading licence in the future.

"I have contacted Birmingham's council," she said. "I haven't heard back yet.

"The cost can be anything from £1,000 to £3,000, so for some of the smaller sheds, perhaps that wouldn't be viable for them.

"Because mine's quite popular, if it's around £1,000, then I probably would still pay for the street trading licence."

For now, the expiry date on the cake shed community across the country, remains to be seen.