Sui generis to sui generis: no permitted change
Sui generis uses sit outside the Use Classes Order, so there is no class to move within and no general permitted change. Even a move between two sui generis uses needs a full application.
A sui generis change of use almost always needs a full planning application, and that remains true when the use you are leaving and the use you are moving to are both sui generis. There is no class to move within, so section 55(2)(f) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 cannot help, and the permitted changes in Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 operate class to class. Petrol station to car showroom, nightclub to amusement arcade, launderette to hot food takeaway: each is a material change of use requiring permission.
What sui generis means
Sui generis means of its own kind. A use is sui generis in one of two ways. Article 3(6) of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 names certain uses and excludes them from every class. Or a use simply is not described by any class, in which case it falls outside the Order by default.
The named exclusions include theatres, amusement arcades and centres, funfairs, launderettes, petrol filling stations, scrap yards and vehicle breaking, the hire, sale or display of motor vehicles, taxi businesses, hostels, waste disposal installations, retail warehouse clubs, nightclubs, casinos, betting offices, hot food takeaways, live music venues, cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls, drinking establishments, and drinking establishments with expanded food provision.
The second route catches uses nobody thought to list: a crematorium, a riding school, a builder's yard, a vehicle storage compound, a car wash on open land. Those are sui generis because the Order is silent about them, and the practical consequence is identical.
The 2020 amendment regulations made this category much larger. Cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls, dance halls, drinking establishments, live music venues and hot food takeaways all moved out of the old A and D classes and into sui generis status on 1 September 2020. A great deal of the evening economy now sits outside the Use Classes Order.
Why no permitted change applies
Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 grants permission for changes of use described by reference to classes, or by reference to specifically named uses. Class MA, for instance, permits a change from Class E to Class C3 subject to prior approval and a set of conditions.
A sui generis use has no class to be the subject of such a right unless the Order names it. A handful of Part 3 classes do name particular sui generis starting points, so the correct step is always to read Part 3 against your actual starting use rather than concluding there is no route. What you will not find is a general right out of sui generis, and you will not find a right between two sui generis uses.
Drinking establishments deserve their own mention. The permitted changes that once applied to pubs were removed in 2017, so a change of use from a drinking establishment, and the demolition of one, require planning permission. Councils also frequently have local policies protecting public houses, and an asset of community value listing adds a separate statutory process on disposal.
| Proposed move | Position |
|---|---|
| Within Class E, for example shop to gym | Not development, no permission needed |
| Class E to a sui generis use, for example cafe to hot food takeaway | Full planning permission required |
| Sui generis to Class E, for example nightclub to gym | Full planning permission required unless a named Part 3 class applies |
| Sui generis to sui generis, for example petrol station to car showroom | Full planning permission required |
Establishing the lawful existing use
The lawful use is the foundation of the application, and with sui generis uses it is more often contested than with anything else, because these uses tend to be long-established and poorly documented.
Three questions settle it. What permission established the use, and does it carry conditions. What has actually happened on the land, evidenced by rates records, leases, licensing records, trading accounts, dated photographs and aerial imagery. And has the use been abandoned.
Abandonment is the trap. A lawful use can be lost where the land has been unused for a long period, the condition of the premises points away from resumption, there has been an intervening use, and the owner's intentions are consistent with giving it up. A petrol station closed and boarded for a decade may no longer have a lawful petrol station use, which means resuming it is itself a material change of use needing permission. That is a real problem on forecourt redevelopment sites and it is worth testing before the acquisition rather than after.
Where the position is unclear, a lawful development certificate under section 191 of the 1990 Act for an existing use, or section 192 for a proposed one, is the formal route. The same analysis applies to intensifying activities on open land, as in our note on car washes on forecourts and open land.
What the application needs
A full application rather than a householder one, with the fee calculated on the relevant basis for a change of use. Beyond the form, plans and fee, the submission has to answer the questions the use itself raises.
- Existing and proposed floor plans and a site plan showing parking, servicing and refuse storage.
- A Planning Statement addressing the lawful use, the development plan policies engaged, and the loss of the former use where a protective policy applies.
- Acoustic evidence where the use generates noise, whether from plant, customers or amplified sound. A Noise Impact Assessment is routine for anything in the evening economy.
- Extraction and odour details for any hot food use, with duct route and termination height.
- Transport and parking evidence proportionate to the change in trip generation and servicing.
- A statement of proposed hours and any management measures.
Illustrative example: a vacant petrol filling station proposed as a vehicle sales and display use. Both are sui generis, so a full application is required. The applicant has to establish whether the forecourt use was abandoned during six years of vacancy, deal with underground tank removal and the resulting land contamination questions, address lighting and the display of vehicles at night, and show that vehicle movements onto the highway are acceptable. The scenario is illustrative rather than drawn from a real case.
The policy tests the application faces
Four themes come up repeatedly, and they vary far more by use than by council.
Loss of the existing use, where a policy protects it. Public houses, community facilities and employment land all attract protective policies, and the usual requirement is marketing evidence over a stated period at a stated price, carried out before the application rather than during it.
Amenity. Noise, odour, light, hours and comings and goings. The agent of change principle in national policy cuts both ways: a new noise-sensitive use next to an established venue must deal with the existing noise, and an established business should not face unreasonable restrictions because something sensitive moved in next door.
Highways and parking, assessed against the plan's standards and the realistic servicing arrangement rather than a theoretical one.
Town centre policy, where the proposed use is a main town centre use outside a centre, which brings the sequential test into play regardless of floorspace.
Conditions restricting future change
Because sui generis uses have no class, councils often attach a condition limiting the permission to the specific use granted and preventing any change without further permission. That is generally justifiable, because the amenity consequences of the named use were what the council assessed.
Read the condition carefully before you accept it. A condition tied to a single named operator, or one that prevents any change including changes that would otherwise be permitted development, can become a serious constraint on resale value. Section 73 of the 1990 Act is the route to vary a condition later, and the practicalities of doing that for operating hours are set out in our piece on changing the hours a use operates.
Enter your postcode on PlanScope to see which reports a sui generis change of use is likely to need.
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
What makes a use sui generis?
Either Article 3(6) of the Use Classes Order names it and excludes it from every class, or no class describes it at all. The named list includes petrol filling stations, nightclubs, hot food takeaways, drinking establishments, cinemas, betting offices and launderettes. Uses nobody listed, such as a crematorium, a riding school or a builder's yard, are sui generis by default.
Is there any permitted change from a sui generis use?
A handful of classes in Part 3 of Schedule 2 to the GPDO 2015 name particular sui generis starting points, so read Part 3 against your actual starting use rather than assuming none exists. There is no general right out of sui generis, and no right between two sui generis uses.
Can a pub be converted without planning permission?
No. The permitted changes that once applied to drinking establishments were removed in 2017, so a change of use from a pub and the demolition of one both need planning permission. Many councils also have protective policies requiring marketing evidence, and an asset of community value listing adds a separate statutory process on disposal.
Can a long-closed petrol station simply reopen?
Not necessarily. A lawful use can be abandoned where the land has been unused for a long period, the premises point away from resumption, there has been an intervening use and the owner's conduct is consistent with giving it up. If the use has been abandoned, resuming it is itself a material change of use requiring permission.
Why do councils condition sui generis permissions so tightly?
Because the use has no class, the amenity consequences the council assessed were those of the specific named use. A condition limiting the permission to that use and preventing change without further permission is usually justifiable. Read it closely, because wording tied to one operator or excluding permitted development can affect resale value.
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.