Use Class Order
GUIDE TO USE CLASSES ORDER AND PERMITTED CHANGES OF USE
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USE CLASSES (Amendment) ORDER 2005
| USE CLASSES ORDER 1972 | DESCRIPTION | GENERAL | |||||||||
| A1
Shops | Class I | Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, undertakers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices, dry cleaners, internet cafes, etc. | No permitted change
(see note 3) | |||||||||
| Pet shops, cat-meat shops, tripe shops, sandwich bars | ||||||||||||
| Show rooms, domestic hire shops, funeral directors | ||||||||||||
| A2
Financial and Professional services | Class II | Banks, building societies, estate and employment agencies | Permitted change to A1
Where ground floor display window exits(see note 3) | |||||||||
| Professional financial services, betting offices | ||||||||||||
| A3
Restaurants & Cafes | Restaurants, snack bars, cafes | Permitted change to A1 or A2 | ||||||||||
| A4
Drinking establishments | Pubs & Bars | Permitted change to A1, A2 or A3 | ||||||||||
| A5
Hot Food Take-Aways | Take-Aways | Permitted change to A1, A2 or A3 | ||||||||||
| Sui Generis
(see note 4) | Shops selling and/or displaying motor vehicles, retail warehouse clubs, launderettes, taxi or vehicle hire businesses, amusement centres, petrol filling stations | No Permitted change | ||||||||||
| B1
Business (see note 5) | Class II | (a) Offices, not within A2 | Permitted change to B8
Where no more than 235 m² | |||||||||
| (b) Research and development, studios, laboratories, high tech | ||||||||||||
| Class III | (c) Light industry | |||||||||||
| B2
General Industry (see note 6) | Class IV-IX | General Industry | Permitted change to B1 or B8
B8 limited to no more than 235 m² | |||||||||
| B8
Storage/distribution | Class X | Wholesale warehouse, distribution centres, repositories | Permitted change to B1
Where no more than 235 m² | |||||||||
| Sui Generis | Any work registerable under the Alkali, etc. Works Regulation Act, 1906 | No permitted change | ||||||||||
| C1
Hotels (see note 7) | Class XI | Hotels, boarding and guest houses | No permitted change | |||||||||
| C2
Residential Institutions | Class XII | Residential schools and colleges | No permitted change | |||||||||
| Class XIV | Hospitals and convalescent/nursing homes | |||||||||||
| C3
Dwelling houses (see note 8) | Dwellings, small businesses at home, communal housing of elderly and handicapped | No permitted change | ||||||||||
| Sui Generis | Hostel | No permitted change | ||||||||||
| D1
Non-residential institutions | Class XIII | Places of worships, church halls | No permitted change | |||||||||
| Class XV | Clinics, health centres, creches, day nurseries, consulting rooms | |||||||||||
| Class XVI | Museums, public halls, libraries, art galleries, exhibition halls | |||||||||||
| Non-residential education and training centres | ||||||||||||
| D2
Assembly and Leisure | Class XVII | Cinemas, music and concert halls | No permitted change | |||||||||
| Class XVIII | Dance, sports halls, swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasiums | |||||||||||
| Other indoor and outdoor sports and leisure uses, bingo halls, casinos | ||||||||||||
| Sui Generis | Class XVII | Theatres, nightclubs | No permitted change | |||||||||
| NOTES | ||||||||||||
| 1: | Changes of use within a specific class do not require planning permission provided that the use subsists: the planning permission has been implemented, and no restrictive condition is attached to the consent | |||||||||||
| 2: | The permitted development rights shown in the final column do not require planning permission where all criteria set out in the Order are met and no restrictive conditions apply. | |||||||||||
| 3: | The General Development (Amendment) Order 1995 provides the permitted change of use of a building from Class A1 or A2 to a mixed use for the purposes of either Class A1 or Class A2 and as a single flat, and from such a mixed use to Class A1 or Class A2 use provided the Class A1 or A2 use is situated on a floor below the single flat and various other conditions are met | |||||||||||
| 4: | Sui generis is a term which refers to a use on its own. Any planning use not falling within a specific class within the Use Classes Order falls within this category. | |||||||||||
| 5: | A B1 use must be capable of being undertaken in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit. | |||||||||||
| 6: | The Use Classes (Amendment) Order 1995 amends the 1987 Order by omitting Classes B4-B7 (special industrial groups B-E). Industrial processes previously within these classes now fall within Class B2 (general industrial). | |||||||||||
| 7: | A C1 use is defined as a hotel or a boarding or guest house where, in each case, no significant element of care is provided. | |||||||||||
| 8: | Six or less residents unless living together as a family. | |||||||||||
| 9: | It should be noted that permitted changes of use identified above are ratchet changes, ie., cannot be made in reverse. | |||||||||||
| 10: | Various other permitted development rights exist for, inter alia, industrial and warehouse buildings, dwelling houses, agricultural buildings, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and development by statutory undertakers. | |||||||||||
| 11: | The above is intended as a general guide only. Reference must be made in the final instance to the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 as amended, the Use Classes (Amendment) Order 2005, and General Permitted Development (Amendment) Order 2005. | |||||||||||
