The use classes are the categories the Use Classes Order puts land and buildings into, so that a change of use within a class is not development and needs no planning application, while a change between classes may. Use classes planning, as an applicant works it, starts from the order itself, which was made in 1987 and rewritten for England in 2020 when the old shop, financial, office and assembly classes were merged into class E and the remaining classes were renumbered. Building use classes, planning classes and planning class uses are the same thing under different names: the schedule of the order. This page sets out what the order does, what each class covers as it stands, and where the classes stop.
What the use classes order does
The order groups uses that are alike in their planning effect into classes and provides that a change from one use to another within the same class is not development. That is the whole of its work, and it is why the first question on any change of use is which class the old and the new use sit in. The order is different in England and Wales since 2020: England has class E for commercial, business and service uses and classes F1 and F2 for learning and community uses, while Wales keeps the earlier lettered classes. An applicant reads the version for the nation the site is in, and the guidance cited below is where the current text is.
The classes as they stand, in outline
In England: class B2 for general industry, B8 for storage and distribution, C1 for hotels, C2 for residential institutions, C3 for dwellinghouses, C4 for small houses in multiple occupation, E for commercial, business and service uses including shops, cafes, offices, clinics, gyms and nurseries, F1 for learning and non-residential institutions and F2 for local community uses. Everything the order does not put in a class is sui generis, a class of its own, including pubs, hot food takeaways, cinemas, nightclubs, petrol stations and large houses in multiple occupation. The guides on class E and on the older classes on this site set out each in more detail.
Where the classes stop, and what the file keeps
A use that is sui generis has no class to change within, so every change to or from it needs an application, and a use restricted by a condition on its permission may not be changed within its class either, because the condition takes it outside the order. The file therefore has to keep the lawful use, the class it sits in, and any condition restricting it, against every site, which is what Consentvia Pro does; the cost of planning application sheet on this site costs the application where one is needed.
Questions people ask about use classes
Does a change of use within a use class need planning permission?
No, provided the change is within the same class and no condition on the permission restricts the use. A change between classes may need permission unless a permitted development right covers it.
Are the use classes the same in England and Wales?
No. England rewrote its order in 2020, creating class E and classes F1 and F2; Wales kept the earlier classes. An applicant reads the order for the nation the site is in.
What is a sui generis use?
A use the order does not put in any class, so it is a class of its own. Pubs, hot food takeaways, nightclubs, theatres, petrol stations and large houses in multiple occupation are sui generis in England, and each needs an application to change to or from.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 as amended: the classes and what each covers
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, When is permission required: development, change of use and the use classes
- GOV.UK planning practice guidance, Flexible options for planning permission: section 73 variations, outline and reserved matters, non-material amendments