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Green Live Commercial Agents | Guide to Commercial Use Class Order Guide to Commercial Use Class Order

Guide to Use Classes Order and Permitted Changes of Use

(England and Wales)

Use Classes Order 1987 (see note 1)	Use Classes Order 1972	Description	General Development Order 1988 (see note 2)
A1 Shops	Class I	Shops, retail warehouses, hairdressers, undertakers, travel and ticket agencies, post offices, dry cleaners, etc Pet shops, cats-meat shops, tripe shops, sandwich bars Showrooms, domestic hire shops, funeral directors	No permitted change (see note 3)
A2 Financial and Professional Services	Class II	Banks, building societies, estate and employment agencies Professional and financial services, betting offices	Permitted change to A1 where a ground floor display window exists (see note 3)
A3 Food and Drink		Restaurants, pubs, snack bars, cafés, wine bars, shops for sale of hot food	Permitted change to A1 or A2
Sui Generis (see note 4)		Shops selling and/or displaying motor vehicles Launderettes, taxi or vehicle hire businesses, amusement centres, petrol filling stations	Permitted change to A1 No permitted change
B1 Business (see note 5)	Class II Class III	Offices, not within A2 Research and development studios, laboratories, high tech Light industry	Permitted change to B8 where no more than 235sqm
B2 General Industrial (see note 6)	Class IV-IX	General industrial	Permitted change to B1 or B8 B8 limited to no more than 235 sqm
B8 Storage and distribution	Class X	Wholesale warehouse, distribution centres, repositories	Permitted change to B1 where no more than 235 sqm
Sui Generis (see note 4)	N/A	Any work registrable 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 Class XIV	Residential schools and colleges Hospitals and convalescent/nursing homes	No permitted change
C3 Dwelling Houses (see note 8)	N/A	Dwellings, small businesses at home, communal housing of elderly and handicapped	No permitted change
Sui Generis (see note 4)	N/A	Hostel	No permitted change
D1 Non-residential Institutions	Class XIII Class XV Class XVI	Places of worship, church halls Clinics, health centres, crèches, day nurseries, consulting rooms Museums, public halls, libraries, art galleries, exhibition halls Non-residential education and training centres	No permitted change
D2 Assembly and Leisure	Class XVII Class XVIII	Cinemas, music and concert halls Dance, sports halls, swimming baths, skating rinks, gymnasiums Other indoor and outdoor sports and leisure uses, bingo halls, casinos	No permitted change
Sui Generis (see note 4)	Class XVII	Theatres	No permitted change

NOTES

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
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
The General Development (Amendment) Order 1995 provides for the permitted change of use of a building from Class A1 or Class 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 Class A2 use is situated on a floor below the single flat and various other conditions are met.
Sui Generis is a term which refers to a use on its own. Any planning use not falling within a specific class within the Classes Order falls within this category.
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".
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).
A C1 use is defines as a hotel or a boarding or guest house where, in each case, no significant element of care is provided.
Six or less residents unless living together as a family.
It should be noted that permitted changes of use identified above are ratchet changes, i.e. cannot be made in reverse.
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.

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