The 2020 Use Classes reform and what it actually changed
The September 2020 reform created Class E, F1 and F2 and pushed pubs, takeaways and cinemas into sui generis. Two things survive it: restrictive conditions and the sui generis list.
On 1 September 2020 the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 swept away the A classes, B1 and most of D1 and D2, and replaced them with Class E, Class F1, Class F2 and a longer list of sui generis uses. For a business occupier the practical effect is that a shop can become a gym, a nursery, a dental practice or an office without planning permission, because all of those now sit inside a single class.
The reform is often described as deregulation of the high street. That description is only half right, because two things survive it: planning conditions on the individual property, and the sui generis list. Either can stop a change that Class E appears to allow.
This summary is as at September 2026, and the source instrument is SI 2020/757 amending the Use Classes Order 1987.
What Class E swallowed
Class E is titled commercial, business and service, and it collects uses that were previously spread across five classes.
| Sub-class | Use |
|---|---|
| E(a) | Display or retail sale of goods, other than hot food |
| E(b) | Sale of food and drink mostly consumed on the premises |
| E(c) | Financial services, professional services and other services appropriate in a commercial, business or service locality |
| E(d) | Indoor sport, recreation or fitness, not involving motorised vehicles or firearms |
| E(e) | Provision of medical or health services, other than by a person attending a patient at home |
| E(f) | Creche, day nursery or day centre |
| E(g) | Offices, research and development, and light industrial processes that can be carried out in a residential area without detriment to amenity |
Moving between any two of those is not development, so it needs no planning permission. That is the change that matters most to a small business taking a unit on a parade.
Class F1 covers learning and non-residential institutions, including schools, museums, public libraries, public halls, places of worship and law courts. Class F2 covers local community uses: a small shop of no more than 280 m² selling mostly essential goods where there is no comparable facility within 1,000 m, a hall or meeting place for the local community, a swimming pool or skating rink, and outdoor sport or recreation.
The uses that were pushed out to sui generis
Pubs and other drinking establishments, drinking establishments with expanded food provision, hot food takeaways, cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls and live music venues all sit outside the class system.
A sui generis use has no class, so any change to it or from it is a material change of use requiring planning permission. This is the trap that catches food businesses most often. A cafe selling food for consumption on the premises is E(b). The same unit selling mostly hot food to take away is sui generis. Shifting the balance of the business from one to the other is a change of use, whatever the signage says.
Where a hot food use is proposed, expect the council to ask about extraction, odour and late night activity. A Ventilation and Extraction Statement dealing with duct route, termination height, filtration and maintenance is usually the document that decides it, and a Noise Impact Assessment covering plant noise and customer activity often sits alongside.
Conditions beat the use class
This is the part that costs occupiers money. Where a planning permission carries a condition restricting the use of the premises, that condition continues to bind, and the freedom to move within Class E does not override it.
Conditions of this kind are common on units in parades, retail parks and mixed use blocks. Typical wording restricts the premises to use as a shop and for no other purpose, or restricts a unit to a specified use within a class that no longer exists.
Where the condition refers to an old class, it is generally interpreted by reference to the use classes as they stood when the permission was granted. So a condition limiting a unit to Class A1 still means shops as defined then, and does not silently become Class E.
The route round a restrictive condition is an application under section 73 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to vary or remove it, or a fresh planning application. Neither is quick, and the council will assess the merits of the wider use on its own terms.
Before signing a lease, read the planning history for the unit. The decision notices, not the agent's particulars, tell you what the premises can be used for.
Article 4 directions and the residential route
Article 4 directions were used widely after the reform, particularly to protect town centre frontages and office floorspace. A direction can withdraw the permitted development right to convert commercial floorspace to housing under Class MA, and some councils have made directions covering defined centres.
Class MA itself came later, on 1 August 2021, giving prior approval rights to change Class E floorspace to dwellinghouses subject to conditions and limits. It is a prior approval route rather than a free change, so it involves an application, a determination period and specific matters the council can consider.
Check the council's Article 4 register before assuming the route is open. A direction is site-specific and published, and it will name the classes and the area it covers.
What still applies after a lawful change of use
A change within Class E removes the need for planning permission for the use. It does not remove anything else.
- Building Regulations approval for the works, including fire safety, means of escape, ventilation and accessibility under Approved Documents B, F and M.
- Licensing, for alcohol, late night refreshment, regulated entertainment or gambling.
- Environmental health requirements on food hygiene, waste storage and pest control.
- Advertisement consent for signage, and planning permission for physical alterations to the shopfront.
- Listed building consent where the building is listed, and the conservation area duty where it sits in one.
- Landlord consent under the lease, which frequently restricts use more tightly than planning does.
Physical works are the point people forget. Fitting a new extract duct, altering the shopfront, adding plant on the roof or installing an air conditioning condenser are all development in their own right, and none of them ride on the back of a use class change.
Illustrative example. A unit last used as a bank takes a lease for an indoor fitness studio. The use moves from E(c) to E(d), which needs no permission. The condition on the 1998 permission restricting the premises to financial and professional services still applies, so the occupier needs a section 73 application before opening, and the mechanical ventilation for the studio needs its own permission. This example is illustrative only.
Getting certainty rather than assuming it
Where money is committed to a fit-out, a certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 is the only formal way to confirm that a change is lawful. It is an application to the council, it takes eight weeks, and it produces a document a lender or landlord will accept.
The alternative, opening and waiting to see whether the council serves an enforcement notice, is a poor way to run a business.
Where a change of use does need permission, the case is made in a Planning Statement that addresses the development plan policies for the centre, the effect on the vitality of the frontage, amenity for nearby residents, parking and servicing. A Transport Statement is often asked for where the trip generation of the new use differs from the old.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a change of use is likely to need.
PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change a shop into a gym without planning permission?
Usually yes, because retail at E(a) and indoor fitness at E(d) sit inside the same use class, so the change is not development. Check the planning history first: a condition restricting the premises to a specific use still binds, and physical works such as new ventilation plant need permission in their own right.
Which uses became sui generis in 2020?
Pubs and drinking establishments, drinking establishments with expanded food provision, hot food takeaways, cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls and live music venues. A sui generis use has no class, so any change into or out of it is a material change of use that needs planning permission.
Does a condition referring to Class A1 still apply?
Yes. A condition restricting a premises to a use in a class that has since been revoked is generally interpreted by reference to the classes as they stood when the permission was granted. It does not automatically convert into Class E. Removing or varying it needs an application under section 73 of the 1990 Act.
What is the difference between Class F1 and Class F2?
F1 covers learning and non-residential institutions such as schools, museums, public libraries, public halls, places of worship and law courts. F2 covers local community uses: small essential shops of up to 280 square metres where there is no comparable facility within 1,000 metres, community halls, swimming pools, skating rinks and outdoor sport.
How do I get certainty that a change of use is lawful?
Apply for a certificate of lawfulness of proposed use or development under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. It is determined in eight weeks and produces a document that lenders and landlords accept. It is the only formal way to confirm that a proposed change does not need planning permission.
Sources and further reading
This article is general guidance about the planning system in England and, where stated, the rest of the UK. It is not legal or professional advice. Check your local planning authority’s validation requirements and take professional advice for your specific site.