New Permitted Rights for Shops and Commercial (Class MA)
Planning House explained in June 2021 what the forthcoming Class MA permitted development right would mean for commercial buildings.
By way of background, permitted development rights let owners make certain changes without a planning application, although a local authority may remove them in an area through an Article 4 Direction. The Use Class Order groups land and buildings into classes, and a change within one class generally needs no permission. In mid-2020 a new Use Class E merged shops, restaurants, indoor sport and similar uses that had previously sat in separate classes, in order to help high streets adapt.
From August 2021, Class MA was to permit conversion of Class E premises to homes, after a prior approval process, replacing the existing office-to-residential and retail-to-residential rights. Transitional provisions preserved earlier rights until 31 July 2021. The firm listed the main conditions: floor space of no more than 1,500 square metres, conversion to residential use only (so not, for example, a house in multiple occupation), and at least three months of vacancy beforehand. Existing Article 4 directions restricting the office-to-residential right were to carry over to Class MA and be extended to 1 August 2022 unless cancelled. The right covers only the change of use, so building works needed to make it happen, such as access or means of escape, would still need planning permission.
In deciding prior approval, councils would look at transport impacts, contamination and flood risk, noise from nearby commercial premises, and whether habitable rooms would receive enough natural light. The right cannot be used on sites of special scientific interest, safety hazard zones, military explosives areas, listed buildings, scheduled monuments or Article 2(3) land such as national parks. In conservation areas it can be used, but ground-floor conversions would be judged on their effect on the area's character. Once approval is granted, the work must be completed within three years. Proposals falling outside the right can still go through an ordinary planning application.