The Government has published some major changes to the 1987 Use Classes Order which will come into effect on 1st September 2020. The changes are designed to help high streets and town centres adapt quickly to consumer and business needs by allowing increased planning flexibility.
The highlights are:
- Parts A & D of the 1987 Order are to be revoked (i.e. the old use classes A1 to A5, D1 and D2);
- There will be a new Class E (commercial, business & service), Class F1 (learning and non-residential institutions) and F2 (local community); and
- There will be new sui generis uses.
The introduction of Class E is significant and covers a wide range of uses such as retail, food, financial services, gyms, healthcare, nurseries, offices and light industry. A change of use within the same use class does not constitute development and therefore does not require planning permission.
