Practice note 12/2: Town and country planning in relation to premises that supply alcohol

The Valuation Office Agency`s technical manual covering all aspects of compulsory purchase and compensation.

Before 31 August 2020

The Town and Country Planning Use Classes Order 1987 was amended in England in 2005 dividing Class A3 (food and drink) further into:

A3 - Restaurants and cafés for the sale of food and drink for consumption on the premises - restaurants, snack bars and cafés:

A4 - Drinking establishments where the primary purpose is the sale and consumption of alcohol on the premises - typically public houses, bars and wine bars (but not night clubs); and

A5 - Hot food takeaways for the sale of hot food for consumption off the premises.

The amendments to the Order only apply in England and do not apply in Wales which retained the original A3 Use Class under the 1987 Order.

Change of use from Class A3 is generally permitted to either Class A1 (shops) and A2 (financial and professional services) under the permitted development rights without the need for further planning permission.

Similarly it is generally permitted that Class A4 (drinking establishments) and Class A5 (hot food takeaways) users can change use to either Class A1, Class A2 or Class A3.

However, there is currently no permitted change of use from Class A3 to either Class A4 or Class A5 uses.

A flexible change of use for Class A1 (properties with accommodation under 150m²) is temporarily allowed to Class A3 use (under Statutory Instrument SI 2013 No. 1101 - but subject to Article 4 directions). This is permitted for a maximum of two years if applied between May 2013 and May 2016 and may be extended.

From 1 September 2020

From 1 September 2020 the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020 No.757) came into effect, making radical changes to the previously existing Use Classes Order 1987.

Three new use classes have been created, with former Classes A and D revoked and former Class B1 omitted. The new Classes are Class E: Commercial, Business and Service, Class F.1: Learning and Non-Residential Institutions and Class F.2: Local Community.

Cafés and restaurants will now fall into the new Class E which is very wide and includes retail, restaurant, office, financial/professional services, light industrial, indoor sports, medical and nursery uses along with “any other services which it is appropriate to provide in a commercial, business or service locality.

Class E therefore subsumes existing Classes A1, A2, A3 and B1, along with a range of other uses. Under the new rules, a shop will be able to change to an office and then to a gym and back again, without planning permission or any other planning approval. This also recognises that a building may be in a mix of uses at once (clothes shop and beauty salon) or be used for different uses at different times.

Pubs and drinking establishments that were under the old Use Classes Order in Class A4 and hot food takeaways that were in Class A5 are now both classed as sui generis.

In summary:

Cafés and restaurants – Class E

Pubs and drinking establishments – Sui generis

Hot Food takeaways – Sui generis