Class E or sui generis for a food and drink business
A restaurant is Class E(b) and a hot food takeaway is sui generis, so the same premises can need no application or a full change of use. The primary use test decides which.
Whether your food business needs planning permission usually comes down to one line in the Use Classes Order. A restaurant or cafe where food and drink is mainly consumed on the premises sits in Class E(b). A hot food takeaway, where the food is mainly taken away, is sui generis and sits in no class at all. Deciding between Class E or sui generis for a food business is therefore the first question to answer, because one side of that line means no application and the other means a full change of use application with all the consultation that brings.
The rules changed on 1 September 2020, and a surprising number of leases, agents' particulars and rating records still describe premises using the old A3, A4 and A5 labels.
Which food and drink uses sit inside Class E
Class E(b) covers the sale of food and drink mainly for consumption on the premises. In practice that means restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, tea rooms and canteens.
Because Class E is a single class, a unit lawfully in E(b) can become a shop, an office, a gym, a nursery or a clinic without permission, and any of those can become a restaurant. That is a real commercial freedom, and it is why a coffee shop can take a former bank unit with no planning application for the use itself.
Alcohol is not the dividing line. A restaurant that serves wine with meals remains in E(b), because the primary activity is still the sale of food for consumption on the premises. Licensing is a separate regime with separate hearings, and a premises licence tells you nothing about the planning use.
What became sui generis in 2020
The 2020 amendment regulations revoked the old A4 and A5 classes and left those uses outside any class. Each of the following is now sui generis, and any move to or from one needs planning permission.
- Hot food takeaways, where food is mainly for consumption off the premises
- Drinking establishments, meaning pubs, wine bars and similar
- Drinking establishments with expanded food provision, the pub that serves substantial meals
- Live music venues
- Cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls and dance halls
The practical effect is one way traffic. Moving out of Class E to a takeaway or a pub needs an application. Moving in the other direction is easier, because Schedule 2 Part 3 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015 includes a permitted development right from a hot food takeaway to a Class E use, subject to conditions and to any Article 4 direction covering the area.
So a former takeaway becoming a cafe is usually straightforward. A cafe becoming a takeaway is a planning application, with odour, noise, hours, litter and parking all in play.
Mixed operations and the primary use test
Almost no food business is purely one thing. A restaurant takes collection orders. A cafe sells sandwiches to passing trade. The question the council asks is what the primary use is, judged as a matter of fact and degree rather than by counting covers.
The factors that matter are the proportion of trade taken away, whether seating is provided and used, the layout of the servery, the hours of operation, and whether the premises is fitted out for one model or the other. A takeaway element that remains clearly ancillary to a restaurant does not change the use. A restaurant whose trade has shifted so that most food leaves the building has become a hot food takeaway in planning terms, whatever the signage says.
Enforcement officers look at delivery rider activity outside the premises more than anything else. That is the visible evidence, and it is what neighbours photograph.
Two other points follow from the same test. An extension of hours into late evening can make a marginal case look like a takeaway, and the mechanics of changing hours are set out in the note on using section 73 or section 96A to change a permission. And a change in trade pattern does not need any physical work to amount to a material change of use.
Delivery only kitchens
Kitchens operating only for delivery platforms, with no customers on the premises, do not fit the Order comfortably. They are not E(b), because nothing is consumed on the premises. They are not obviously a hot food takeaway either, since there is no counter trade.
Most authorities treat them as sui generis and require an application, and the impacts they assess are rider parking and congestion, extraction and odour, refrigeration and plant noise, and hours. The legal position has not been settled cleanly enough to rely on an assumption, so the sensible route is a pre-application enquiry or an application under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 for a certificate confirming that a proposed use is lawful.
Where a delivery kitchen occupies part of a larger restaurant unit, the position is more forgiving, since the delivery operation can be ancillary to a continuing restaurant use.
Proving the existing lawful use
Everything above depends on what the lawful use is now, and on a food unit that has changed hands several times the answer is often unclear.
| Evidence | What it proves |
|---|---|
| Decision notice and conditions | The permitted use and any restriction on it |
| Lawful development certificate | The lawful use, conclusively, for the matters stated |
| Council public register history | What has been applied for and decided over time |
| Accounts, tills records and delivery platform data | The actual trade split, which is what the primary use test turns on |
| Dated photographs and menus | The way the premises has presented itself |
A lawful development certificate under section 191 of the 1990 Act, for an existing use, is the only formal way to confirm that a use is lawful. On a transaction where the takeaway element carries the value, it is worth the fee.
Conditions that block movement inside Class E
Class E flexibility can be switched off by a planning condition, and food units are among the most heavily conditioned premises in any high street.
Conditions granted before September 2020 that restrict a unit to the former A3 use still bite according to what A3 meant when the permission was granted, so a unit restricted to A3 cannot become an office or a gym even though both now share a class with a restaurant. Conditions controlling hours, extraction, refuse storage and delivery times survive a change of use within the class as well.
Removing or varying such a condition needs an application under section 73, which is a fresh planning judgement on that condition and can be refused.
Getting the description right on the form
The description of development on the application form defines what you are granted, and vague wording causes trouble for years.
"Change of use from Class E(b) restaurant to sui generis hot food takeaway" is clear. "Change of use to restaurant and takeaway" invites a condition limiting the takeaway element to an ancillary proportion, which then becomes the thing you argue about at enforcement. If you want a dual operation, describe it and justify it, with figures on the expected split.
Support it with the evidence the environmental health officer will want: a Ventilation and Extraction Statement showing the duct route and termination, an Odour Assessment where receptors are close, and a note on refuse and delivery arrangements. Signage is a separate consent again, as set out in the note on advertisement consent or listed building consent for signage.
PlanScope can draft those supporting documents in minutes, structured to UK planning policy, with site specific gaps flagged rather than filled in with guesses.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it, and use a lawful development certificate where the lawfulness of a use needs to be settled. PlanScope provides AI-assisted draft reports for planning applications. Reports should be reviewed before submission. We do not guarantee planning approval.
Frequently asked questions
Is a coffee shop the same use class as a restaurant?
Yes. Both fall within Class E(b), the sale of food and drink mainly for consumption on the premises, so switching between them needs no planning permission. Check the decision notice for the unit first, because a condition restricting it to a narrower use overrides the class. Physical works such as new extraction are a separate matter.
Do I need permission to add a takeaway service to my restaurant?
Not if the takeaway element stays properly ancillary to a continuing restaurant use. If most of the food starts leaving the premises, the primary use has changed to a hot food takeaway, which is sui generis and needs permission. Existing conditions may also limit the proportion of takeaway trade allowed.
What use class is a delivery only kitchen?
The Order does not deal with it cleanly. With no consumption on the premises it is not Class E(b), and with no counter trade it is not a conventional takeaway. Most authorities treat it as sui generis and expect an application. A certificate under section 192 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 can settle the point for a proposed use.
Can a pub become a restaurant without permission?
No. Drinking establishments became sui generis on 1 September 2020, so a move from a pub to a Class E restaurant is a change of use needing planning permission. Many authorities also have local plan policies protecting public houses, and a loss of the pub use may need to be justified on community value grounds.
Does a premises licence affect my planning use class?
No. Licensing and planning are separate regimes with separate applications, separate decision makers and different tests. A licence to sell alcohol until midnight does not extend planning permission for opening hours, and a planning condition restricting hours applies regardless of what the licence allows. Both need to line up before you trade.
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.