Exempt Change of Use

Use

The following are the exempt classes of use for the purposes of the exempt development regulations. Development consisting of a change of use within one of the classes is exempt development, provided that it would not

• involve the carrying out of works other than works which are exempt development;
• contravene a condition in a planning permission granted under the Act;
• be inconsistent with any use specified or included in such permission;
• be  development where the existing use is an unauthorised use, except where the change of use consists of the resumption of use, which is not unauthorised and which has not been abandoned.

A use which is ordinarily incidental to a use above, is not excluded from that use as incidental to it, merely by reason of it being specified as a separate use in the schedule to the Regulations.

Development consisting of the provision within a building occupied by or under the control of a state authority, of a shop or restaurant for visiting members of the public is exempt.

Development consisting of the use of not more than four bedrooms in house where each is used for the accommodation of not more than four persons as overnight guests, shall be exempted, provided that such development would not contravene a condition in a planning permission.  Development consisting of the use of a house for child minding is exempted.

Changes of Use

The planning and development regulations specify eleven “use” classes.  Development which consists of a change of use within one of the classes, is generally exempt  development, provided that it does not

• involve carrying out works other than exempt works;
• contravene a condition attached to a planning permission;
• be inconsistent with the use specified or included in the relevant planning permission
• be development where the existing use is unauthorised, save where the change of use consists of resumption of an authorised use which has not been abandoned.

Use which is ordinarily incidental to such use, is not excluded from that use merely by reason of being specified as a separate class of use.

Development consisting of the use of a house for a childminding is exempt.  Development consisting of the use of not more than four bedrooms, where each is used as accommodation for not more than four persons as overnight guests is exempt, provided it does not contravene a condition of a planning permission and is not inconsistent with the use specified or included in such permission.

Use Classes

The use classes are as follows

• use as a shop;
• use as an office for financial services, professional services (other than health or medical services) and other services, where services are provided principally to visiting members of the public;
• use as an office other than those involving services principally provided to visiting members of the public);
• use as a light industrial building;
• use as a wholesale warehouse or repository;
• use as a residential club, guest house or hostel;
• use for  public worship or religious instruction, social recreational activities of a religious body or as a monastery or convent;
• use as a health centre or clinic, a crèche, nursery, or day centre.  This does not include the use of a house of a consultant or practitioner of a building attached to a house or within its curtilage for such purpose;
• use for the provision of residential accommodation and care to people in need of care (but not a house for that purpose), a hospital,  nursing home, residential house, college or training centre;
• use as an art gallery, museum, library, reading room, public room, exhibition hall, public hall, social centre, community centre or non-residential club.  This does not include use as a dance hall or concert hall; use as a theatre, cinema, concert hall, banquet hall, skating rink or gymnasium for indoor sports or recreation,  not involving the use of motor vehicles or firearms.

Retail

A shop means a structure used for any role of the following purposes; where the sale, display or service is principally to visiting members of the public;

• post office;
• retail sale of goods;
• sale of tickets or travel agency;
• sale of sandwiches or food for consumption off the premises, subsidiary to the main retail use;
• hairdressing;
• display of good for sale;
• the hiring of personal goods or articles;
• launderette or dry cleaner

The following changes of use are exempt;

• use for the sale of hot for food consumption off the premises or for sale or leasing of vehicles to use as a shop;
• use as a public house to use as a shop;
• use as a funeral home or amusement arcade to use as a shop;
• use of premises for the provision of services, principally to visiting members of the public to a shop;
• use as two dwellings to a single dwelling of any structure previously used as a single dwelling

Conversion from use as a house to use as a residence for persons with intellectual or physical disability or mental illness and persons providing care for them, is exempt.  This is on condition that the number of persons with disabilities living in the residence shall not exceed six and the number of carers shall not exceed two.

The Use Classes in Detail

The categories for exempted use are as follows

• lass 1; use as a shop;
• Class 2; use for the provisions of financial services, professional services (other than health or medical services) or any other services including used as a betting shop where the services are provided principally to visiting member of the public;
• Class 3; use as a shop other than use to which class 2 applies;
• Class 4; use as an industrial building;
• Class 5; use as a wholesale warehouse or as a repository
• Class 6; use as a residential club, guest house or hostel, other than where care is provided;
• Class 7; use for public worship, religious instruction, social or recreational activities of a religious body or as monastery or convent;
• Class 8; use as a health centre or clinic for the provision of medical or health services (but not used as a house of a consultant or medical practitioner) and any building attached to a house or within the curtilage thereof, for that purpose; use as a crèche day nursery or day centre;
• Class 9; use for the provision of residential accommodation or care to people in need of care, (not the use of the house for that  purpose);
• use as a hospital or nursing home;
• used as a residential school, residential college or residential training centre;
• Class 10; use as an art gallery, museum, public library, public reading room, public hall, exhibition hall, social community centre, or non-residential club, but not a dance hall or concert hall;
• Class 11; use as a theatre, cinema, concert hall, bingo hall, skating ring or gymnasium or for other indoor sports or recreation, not involving  the use of motor vehicles or firearms.

Exceptions

Nothing in the classes are to include use as

• an amusement arcade;
• motor service station;
• the leasing, sale, display of motor vehicles;
• hackney business or hire of motor vehicles;
• scrap yard, breaking of motor vehicles, or storage or distribution of vehicles;
• a supermarket, the net retail space of which exceeds 3,500 square metres in the Greater area or 3,000 square metres elsewhere;
• retail warehouse, the gross retail space of which exceeds 6,000 square metres including any ancillary garden centre or
• as any shop associated with the petrol station, the total net retail space of which exceeds 100 square metres.

Temporary Structures

There are a number of exemptions for temporary structures and uses for a particular purpose.  This includes the following;

• occasional use for social and recreational purposes of any school or gallery, museum, library, reading room, or structure normally used for public worship or religious instruction;
• The erection, construction or placing on land of any structures, work, plant or machinery needed temporarily in connection with the completion of works itself permitted by planning permission. The structures, plant, machinery etc. must be removed at the expiration of the period and the land must be reinstated, save as permitted by the planning permission.  Similarly exempted is temporary onsite accommodation for persons employed in connection with carrying out such works
• State works in connection with temporary facilities in connection with visits of dignitaries or delegation and elections are exempt subject to condition.