Class E: what one use class now covers
Movements inside Class E are not development, so a shop can become a gym without permission. Here are the sub-classes, the uses that dropped out, and the conditions that still bite.
Class E of the Use Classes Order is the commercial, business and service class introduced on 1 September 2020. It swallowed shops, restaurants and cafes, financial and professional services, offices, research and development, light industry, gyms, clinics and nurseries into a single class. Inside that class you can change from one activity to another without planning permission, because a change within a use class is not development.
That is the headline, and it is broadly true. The qualifications are where the money is.
The sub-classes inside Class E
The class is lettered rather than numbered, and the letters matter when a condition or a lease refers to them.
| Sub-class | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 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) | Medical or health services, other than those attached to a practitioner's home |
| E(f) | Creche, day nursery or day centre |
| E(g) | Office, research and development, or light industrial processes that can be carried on in a residential area without detriment to amenity |
E(g)(iii) is the sub-class people forget. Light industrial floorspace sits in the same class as a shop, so a small workshop can become a retail unit and back again without an application, provided the amenity test in the wording is still met.
Why movements within E are not development
Section 55(2)(f) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 says that a change of use within the same use class is not development. Article 3 of the Use Classes Order then defines the classes. Put together, a Class E shop becoming a Class E gym does not need permission, and no notification to the council is required either.
That is a real freedom, and it changed how leases are negotiated. It also has limits that are easy to miss, which our explainer on what section 55 actually means by development covers in more detail.
The freedom does not extend beyond the class. Leaving Class E for a takeaway, a pub, a launderette, a place of worship or a house is a change between classes or into sui generis, and it needs permission or a prior approval route. That assessment follows the ordinary approach set out in our note on the material change of use test.
Uses that dropped out of the old A classes
The 2020 amendment did not just merge classes. It moved several uses out into sui generis, where each change of use needs its own application.
- Hot food takeaways, formerly A5.
- Drinking establishments, including pubs and wine bars, formerly A4, with drinking establishments with expanded food provision as a separate sui generis use.
- Cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls and live music venues.
Two new classes were also created. Class F1 covers learning and non-residential institutions, meaning schools, museums, libraries, public halls, places of worship and law courts. Class F2 covers local community uses, including a small shop of no more than 280 m² selling essential goods where there is no other such shop within 1,000 m, along with community halls, outdoor sport and swimming pools.
The F2 shop definition repays a close read if you run a village store. It exists to stop the last shop in a settlement being converted under Class E freedoms, and it applies by reference to distance and floorspace rather than to what the shop sells today.
Conditions that still restrict a Class E property
A condition on an earlier permission does not evaporate because the classes were reorganised. A permission granted in 2015 restricting a unit to A1 retail use still restricts it, and the restriction is read by reference to the class as it stood when the condition was imposed.
This is the single most common misunderstanding about Class E. The occupier reads the class, assumes free movement, opens as a gym, and receives an enforcement enquiry three months later.
Removing or varying such a condition takes an application under section 73 of the 1990 Act, which is determined on the planning merits of the restriction rather than as a formality. Where the condition was imposed for a reason that still holds, such as parking or the retail frontage policy in a town centre, expect it to be defended.
Check the planning history of the unit before signing anything. Every permission on the site, not only the most recent, and every condition attached to each.
Legal agreements do the same job in a different way. A section 106 obligation restricting occupation, common on units delivered as part of a larger scheme, binds the land and is not touched by the use classes at all. Varying one takes a deed of variation with the council, and the timetable for that is measured in months rather than weeks.
Fit-out works that need permission anyway
Use class freedom says nothing about building works, and most fit-outs involve some.
Operational development still needs permission. That includes a new shopfront, an extraction flue on the rear elevation, external plant such as air conditioning condensers, a mezzanine floor that adds floorspace, and any external alteration to a listed building. Signage needs advertisement consent under the advertisement regulations, which is a separate consent with its own procedure.
Where the unit is in a conservation area or the building is listed, the external work is usually the harder half of the project. The use may be free. The flue is not.
Internal works are a different matter again. Alterations that do not affect the external appearance of a building are not development, so a fit-out inside an unlisted unit generally needs no planning permission, although building regulations approval, a fire risk assessment and a premises licence may all still apply on their own timetables.
Class MA is the other route occupiers ask about, allowing Class E floorspace to become dwellings with prior approval. It carries conditions, including that the building has been in Class E use for at least two years, has been vacant for at least three months, and does not exceed 1,500 m². Our note on prior approval as the halfway house before permission explains how those applications are assessed.
Checking the lease and the planning history first
Do these four things before committing to a unit.
- Read the planning history for every permission on the site and list the conditions that restrict use, hours, servicing or plant.
- Read the user clause in the lease, which often still refers to the old A and B classes and may be narrower than planning control allows.
- Check whether an Article 4 direction applies, particularly one removing Class MA or restricting change of use in a town centre frontage.
- List the physical works and identify which need planning permission, advertisement consent, listed building consent or building regulations approval.
The planning position and the lease position are different questions with different answers, and a landlord's consent to a use does not make it lawful in planning terms.
If you are working out what a change of use or fit-out will need, the index of report types by category shows the supporting documents councils commonly ask for. This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the position with your local planning authority or a qualified professional before relying on it. 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 a shop become a gym without planning permission?
In use terms, yes. Retail sits in E(a) and indoor fitness in E(d), and section 55(2)(f) of the 1990 Act says a change within a use class is not development. Check the planning history first, because a condition on an earlier permission restricting the unit to a former class continues to apply and would need varying under section 73.
Which uses left the old A classes in 2020?
Hot food takeaways, pubs and drinking establishments, cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls and live music venues all became sui generis, so each change of use to them needs its own application. Schools, museums, libraries, public halls and places of worship moved to Class F1, and local community uses to Class F2.
Does a condition limiting a unit to A1 retail still apply?
Yes. Reorganising the use classes did not cancel existing conditions. A condition restricting use to A1 is read by reference to the class as it stood when the condition was imposed, and it continues to bite. Varying it takes an application under section 73, decided on the planning merits of the restriction.
What is Class E(g)(iii) and why does it matter?
It covers light industrial processes that could be carried on in a residential area without detriment to amenity. Because it sits inside Class E, a small workshop can change to retail, office or fitness use without permission. That also means employment floorspace can be lost without any application, which is why some councils use Article 4 directions.
Do I still need permission for the shopfront and flue?
Almost certainly. Use class freedom does not cover operational development. A new shopfront, an extraction flue, external plant, a mezzanine adding floorspace and external alterations to a listed building all need permission or consent in their own right, and signage needs advertisement consent under the advertisement regulations.
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.