Every building has a planning use. Uses are grouped into classes, and moving between two uses in the same class is not development, so it does not need planning permission. This table shows where the venues a supplier cares about sit in England.
| Venue | Use class | What the class covers |
|---|---|---|
| Shop | E(a) | Display or retail sale of goods, other than hot food |
| Café or restaurant | E(b) | Food and drink mostly eaten on the premises |
| Gym or fitness studio | E(d) | Indoor sport, recreation or fitness |
| Pub, wine bar or other drinking establishment | None | Listed on its own, outside every class |
| Hot food takeaway | None | Hot food mostly eaten off the premises |
| Live music venue or cinema | None | Each listed on its own |
| Hotel or guest house | C1 | Hotels, boarding and guest houses |
What follows from it
- Shop to café, or office to restaurant, is a move inside Class E. The change of use itself needs no application.
- Anything becoming a pub, a bar or a takeaway is a move to a use outside the classes, so it needs planning permission.
- Some changes that need permission are granted in advance by national rules, known as permitted development rights. The council can say whether one applies.
- Offices, clinics and day nurseries are in Class E too, which is why an application that says only “Class E” does not tell you a venue is coming.
A use outside every class is often called sui generis, which means “of its own kind”. These classes took effect on 1 September 2020 and apply to England only.