Town & Country Planning Changes 2015

Posted: 20th August 2015

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 came into force on 15th April 2015.

Steven Weatherstone from Marchmont Chartered Surveyors has set-out the new permitted development rights that apply to betting shops, since being moved from A2 to a Sui generis use class.

Broadly speaking they can continue to benefit from PD rights to change use to A1 and A2 but new rights have been introduced too. Summary as follows:

Class C – retail, betting office or pay day loan shop or casino to restaurant or cafe

Change of use to class A3 – subject to various conditions and a prior approval process – allows building operations to provide for ventilation and extraction, storage of rubbish as reasonably necessary to use the building as class A3.

Development is not permitted if any of the following apply:

  1. Cumulative floor space changing use must not exceed 150 square metres
  2. The development (together with any previous development under class C) would result in more than 150 square metres having changed use under class C.
  3. The land must not be in a site of special scientific interest, safety hazard area or military explosives storage area.
  4. The site must not be or contain a scheduled monument.
  5. The building must not be listed.

Prior approval process – this is extensive:

You must apply to the local authority for determination as to whether prior approval is required. They are allowed to assess the following impacts:

  • Noise
  • Odour
  • Storage and handling of wastes
  • Transport and highways
  • Opening hours
  • General desirability of the change of use because of impact of the change of use out of A1 or A2 – so I assume this does not apply to betting offices, and if it is in a key shopping area then the impact on sustainability of the area (again, seems to have less applicability for betting offices).
  • Siting, design or external appearance of the facilities to be provided from the building operations permitted (only applies if the carrying out of the permitted building operations is proposed).

Development must be carried out within 3 years of the prior approval date.

Class E – Financial and professional or betting office or payday loan shop to shops

Change of use to A1. No conditions or prior approval process.

Class F – Betting offices or payday loan shops to financial and professional

Change of use to A2- no conditions or prior approval process.

Class G – Retail or betting office or payday loan shop to mixed use

  1. Change of use to mixed use to class A2 and as up to 2 flats.
  2. Where the building has a display window at ground floor level: to a mixed use of A1 (shops) and as up to 2 flats.
  3. To a mixed use as a betting office and as up to 2 flats.

Conditions that apply to change of use under class G:

  • Some or all of the parts of the building in the relevant commercial use must be situated below the parts used for residential.
  • If there is a display window at ground floor, this part cannot change use to residential.
  • The flat can only be used for a single dwelling and only for up to 6 residents living together as a single household.

Class H – mixed use to retail

You can go from a mixed use of A1/A2/ betting office and up to 2 flats to A2, A1 or, if the mixed use was betting office and residential, to betting office use. You can only use this if the residential parts changing use were used for A1, A2 or betting office as relevant, immediately prior to being residential.

Class J – retail or betting office or payday loan shop to assembly and leisure

Change of use to D2 (assembly and leisure)

Conditions, including size restrictions on the area change of use, and a permitted development process applies.

Class M – retail or betting office or payday loan shop to dwelling houses

Change of use to C3 residential from retail or A2 or betting shop use, or mixed use as a betting shop and residential.

Allows for building operations that are reasonably necessary.

Conditions and a prior approval process applies.

Development not permitted if:

  • The building was not used as a betting shop on 20 March 2013 (or its last use if not in use at that date).
  • A1/ A2 use was permitted under PD rights.
  • Cumulative floor space changing use is more than 150 square metres or it would result in more than 150 square metres of floor space having changed use to C3.
  • The external dimensions can’t extend beyond the existing dimensions
  • The building works consist of demolition, other than that reasonably necessary.
  • It is in a conservation area, is a listed building, a scheduled monument or any of the other areas as for Class C. Obviously the addition of conservation areas to the list will knock out quite a few properties.

Prior approval process applies. Local authority can look at flooding risks, contamination risks, transport and highways impacts, general desirability of the change of use because of the impact of the loss of retail use/ Impact on key shopping area (assume not applicable to betting offices), and design and external appearance of the building.

You must complete the development within three years from the prior approval date.

Temporary change of use is also possible from betting office to a flexible A1, A2,A3 or class B1 use, so long as no more than 150 square metres is to change use and not on a site of special scientific interest, safety hazard/ military explosives area, is listed/ a scheduled monument. You must notify the local authority as to the use and the date commenced. Site reverts to betting office use at expiry of 2 year period.

For Further Details Contact:

Steven Weatherstone

Director

DD | 020 7409 5477
M | 0771 031 4489
E | [email protected]
22 – 23 Princess Street, London, W1B 2LU