Class MA prior approval: what to submit and why it fails
The vacancy condition has gone and the two year use test remains. What to submit, what the authority may lawfully consider, and the refusal reasons that recur.
The first thing to know about Class MA vacancy evidence is that you no longer need any. The three month continuous vacancy condition was removed from Class MA on 5 March 2024, along with the 1,500 m² floorspace cap, so an occupied building can be the subject of a prior approval application. What remains is a two year qualifying use test and a closed list of matters the authority may consider, and refusals almost always come from that list rather than from policy.
The evidence that is no longer needed, and the evidence that is
Advice describing a three month vacancy requirement predates March 2024. Checking the date on anything you read about Class MA is now part of the job.
The surviving test is use history. The building must have been in Class E, or a qualifying earlier use, for a continuous period of at least two years before the date of the application. That is proved with leases, business rates records, utility accounts and dated photographs, pulled together into a single dated table rather than handed over as a bundle. The detail of how the conditions interact is set out in Class MA vacancy and continuous use conditions.
Occupied buildings create one practical wrinkle. A prior approval does not give you possession, so the programme depends on the lease as much as on the planning position, and a tenant with two years left can make an approval worthless for a while. That is a commercial question rather than a planning one, and it is worth answering before the fee is paid.
What goes in the application
Prior approval applications are frequently submitted too thin, on the theory that the authority can only consider a short list. The list is short. Each item on it still needs an answer.
- The application form, the fee and a site location plan with the red line drawn around everything the scheme needs.
- Existing and proposed floor plans and elevations, with areas scheduled room by room.
- A dated use history table with the supporting documents behind it.
- A short statement addressing each prior approval matter under its own heading.
- Transport and access information, with servicing and parking where the site has either.
- Contamination screening appropriate to the site history.
- Flood risk screening, with an assessment where the building is in Zone 2 or 3.
- A daylight and natural light position for every habitable room.
- Confirmation that the dwellings meet the nationally described space standard.
A Planning Statement organised under the statutory headings is far more useful than a general narrative, because the officer writes their report under the same headings and will lift from yours if it is usable.
How the authority determines it
The authority considers only the prior approval matters set out in the order. Broadly those cover transport and highways impacts with safe site access the usual focus, contamination risks, flooding risks, the impact of noise from commercial premises on the people who will occupy the new dwellings, the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms, the impact of losing certain services where a nursery or health centre is displaced, and in a conservation area the effect of losing a ground floor use.
General planning objections fall outside that list. Loss of employment floorspace, the absence of affordable housing, overdevelopment, density and design are not matters for a Class MA prior approval, and an officer's report that refuses on them is vulnerable.
The determination period is 56 days under paragraph W of Part 3. There is a point worth understanding in that paragraph: where the authority does not notify the applicant of its decision within the 56 days, the development may proceed in accordance with the application. That is a real mechanism rather than a loophole, and it is the reason a complete, well indexed submission is in your interest. An authority facing a tidy application and a deadline tends to determine it.
Do not rely on the deadline as a strategy. Check the position carefully before starting work, because the condition is specific about what has to have happened, and getting it wrong means building without permission.
Designated land, listed buildings and Article 4
The exclusions have not changed with the conditions. Class MA is unavailable where the building is listed or lies within the curtilage of a listed building, and where the land is or forms part of a scheduled monument, a site of special scientific interest, a safety hazard area or a military explosives storage area. Agricultural tenancies bring a further restriction. Read the current MA.1 list rather than any summary.
Conservation areas do not remove the right, though the loss of a ground floor use in a conservation area is one of the matters the authority weighs, which in practice makes ground floor shop units harder than upper floors.
Article 4 directions are the common obstacle and they are growing. Where an authority has withdrawn Class MA over a town centre, a primary shopping frontage or a defined employment area, a full planning application is needed and the local plan applies in full. Check the Article 4 register before you do anything else. Thirty seconds there saves a wasted fee.
The refusal reasons that recur
Four reasons account for most refusals, and all four are avoidable.
| Refusal reason | What fixes it |
|---|---|
| Inadequate natural light to habitable rooms | Reduce the unit count so every habitable room has an external window, and submit calculations for the worst rooms |
| Use history not demonstrated for the full two years | A dated table with a second independent document covering every gap |
| Noise from adjoining commercial premises not addressed | A measurement survey and a glazing and ventilation specification that meets internal targets |
| Contamination not screened | A desk study proportionate to the site history |
Natural light is the leading cause on deep plan buildings, and it is a design problem rather than a reporting one. No report rescues an internal bedroom. Noise is the second, and a short Noise Impact Assessment that measures, states the target and specifies the build-up answers it, with councils normally expecting a suitably qualified acoustician as the author. Contamination is the easiest to fix, usually through a desk study following the approach of a Land Contamination Phase 1 assessment, and intrusive work where the history requires it must be done by suitably qualified and experienced people.
Appealing a refusal
A refusal of prior approval can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. The deadline is normally six months from the date of the decision, and you should confirm the current period on the appeals service before relying on it. There is no fee.
Appeals of this kind are narrow, which cuts both ways. The inspector is confined to the prior approval matters, so a refusal that strays into general policy is a straightforward appeal. A refusal on natural light, properly reasoned, is a hard appeal, because the inspector will look at the same plans.
Written representations suit most of these. Where the dispute is evidential, about the use history, a well organised appendix of records usually settles it. Where the dispute is about light, a revised scheme is often the better answer than an appeal.
Sequencing the application
Order the work so the expensive items come after the quick checks. Article 4 register, then the MA.1 exclusions, then the use history, then the floorplate test for natural light, then the surveys. Most schemes that fail do so at one of the first four, and all four can be done in a day without a consultant.
And if the lease runs to 2029, the planning route can wait.
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. For specialist technical reports, qualified professional input may be required. Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which documents a Class MA conversion is likely to need.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need vacancy evidence for a Class MA application?
No. The three month continuous vacancy condition was removed on 5 March 2024, along with the 1,500 square metre floorspace cap. An occupied building can be the subject of a prior approval application. What remains is the requirement that the building has been in a qualifying use for a continuous two years before the application.
Can the council refuse Class MA on loss of employment floorspace?
The authority may only consider the matters listed in the order, which cover transport and highways, contamination, flooding, noise affecting future occupiers, natural light, the loss of certain services and, in a conservation area, the loss of a ground floor use. Loss of employment floorspace, density and design fall outside that list.
What happens if the council misses the 56 day deadline?
Paragraph W of Part 3 provides that where the authority has not notified the applicant of its decision within 56 days, the development may proceed in accordance with the application. Check the exact wording and the facts carefully before starting work, because the condition is specific and building without permission is a serious risk.
What are the most common reasons a Class MA application is refused?
Inadequate natural light to habitable rooms on deep plan buildings, a use history that does not cover the full two years, noise from adjoining commercial premises left unaddressed, and no contamination screening. The first is a design problem that no report can solve, and the other three are fixed with proportionate evidence.
How do I appeal a refusal of prior approval?
Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate under section 78 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, normally within six months of the decision date, with no fee. The inspector is confined to the prior approval matters, so a refusal that strays into general policy is a straightforward appeal while one on natural light is hard.
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.