Commercial permitted development
Change of use assessments, commercial permitted development routes and pre-purchase due diligence for landlords, investors and developers. The question is rarely "can this be done" — it is "which route, at what cost, and what will actually stop it".
Commercial permitted development is less a single right than a set of them, each with its own conditions. The practical skill is working out which route fits a building, and identifying early what would prevent it — because that is usually cheaper to discover on paper than on site.
What we handle
- Change of use assessments. Establishing the lawful current use, and what it can become without a full application.
- Class MA conversions. Class E premises to residential — our most common commercial instruction.
- Office and retail permitted development routes. Including alterations and extensions where the relevant rights apply.
- Lawful development certificates. Formal confirmation of an existing or proposed use, for sale, refinance or certainty.
- Pre-purchase due diligence. An assessment of what a building's rights actually are, before you exchange.
- Full planning applications where a permitted development route is not appropriate.
Class E and what it does not do
Class E consolidated a wide range of commercial, business and service uses into one class. Movement between uses inside it — a shop becoming an office, an office becoming a gym — does not generally amount to development requiring permission.
What Class E does not do is let you move out of it. Going from Class E to residential, or to most uses outside the class, needs either a specific permitted development right or a full application. That distinction is where a lot of confident assumptions come unstuck.
Worth knowing. Even where no application is required, a lawful development certificate is often worth having. It costs a fraction of a planning application and it is what a buyer's solicitor will ask for. Reconstructing an argument about use history five years later is considerably harder than documenting it now.
Pre-purchase due diligence
The most valuable point to involve us is before exchange, not after completion. A building's permitted development rights are not obvious from the particulars, and agents' assurances about conversion potential are not a substitute for checking.
A pre-purchase assessment covers:
- the lawful use of the building and how long it has been in it, which drives the Class MA two-year condition;
- whether an Article 4 direction covers the site, and what it removes;
- designations affecting the land, including listing, conservation area status and the wider protected designations;
- conditions on previous permissions that may have removed permitted development rights;
- which prior approval matters would apply, and the technical reports those would require;
- a realistic view of the route, the programme and the total cost including third-party work.
The output is a written assessment you can rely on when deciding what to bid, or whether to bid at all.
When a full application is the better answer
Permitted development routes trade flexibility for certainty. The conditions are fixed and the assessment is narrow, which is an advantage when a scheme fits neatly and a real constraint when it does not.
Where a scheme needs a different unit mix, external alterations beyond what the right permits, or a layout the conditions will not accommodate, a full planning application is often the better route even though it takes longer. We would rather tell you that at the outset than push a building through a route it does not suit.
Fixed fees for this service
Quoted in writing before anything starts. No hourly billing.
Basic
Eligibility assessment and written advice.
- Initial eligibility assessment
- Review of your proposed development
- Written planning advice
- Recommended route and next steps
Standard
The application handled end to end.
- Everything needed for the agreed standard submission
- Application preparation
- Submission management
- Council liaison
- Reasonable clarification responses
Premium
Strategic support for complex cases.
- Strategic planning assessment
- Full case management
- Coordination of more complex evidence and support
- Council liaison
- Post-decision guidance
Council application fees and third-party reports or drawings are separate unless expressly included. Complex schemes are quoted bespoke — we will tell you before you commit if your project falls outside the standard packages.
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers to what people actually ask us.
What can I change my commercial unit into without planning permission?
Class E is a broad use class, and movement between uses within it — a shop becoming an office, an office becoming a clinic, and so on — does not generally amount to development requiring planning permission.
Moving out of Class E to a different use class, such as residential, is a different question and normally requires either a permitted development right such as Class MA or a full planning application.
Do I need to tell the council if I am changing use within Class E?
Often no application is needed. That said, we frequently recommend obtaining a lawful development certificate anyway.
The reason is practical rather than legal: lenders, buyers and their solicitors ask for evidence, and a certificate is far easier to produce years later than a reconstructed argument about what the use was and when it changed.
What is pre-purchase permitted development due diligence?
It is an assessment carried out before you exchange, to establish what permitted development rights a building actually has.
We check the use history, whether the two-year condition for Class MA can be satisfied, any Article 4 directions covering the site, designations, and conditions on previous permissions that may have removed rights. You get a written view on what is realistically achievable before you are committed.
Can permitted development rights be taken away?
Yes, and this happens more often than people expect. An Article 4 direction made by the local planning authority can withdraw specified rights across a defined area, and many authorities have made directions aimed specifically at commercial to residential conversions in town centres and employment areas.
Rights can also be removed by a condition attached to an earlier planning permission on the site.
Is a permitted development route always better than a full application?
No. Permitted development routes come with fixed conditions and a limited assessment, which suits some schemes and constrains others badly.
Where a scheme needs flexibility on layout, unit mix or external alterations, a full planning application is sometimes the better route despite taking longer. We will tell you when that is the case rather than forcing a scheme through a route that does not fit it.
How are commercial schemes priced?
Straightforward assessments and single-unit applications generally fit within the standard packages. Larger buildings, multiple units, and schemes requiring extensive technical evidence are quoted bespoke.
We will tell you which applies after the initial assessment, before you commit to anything. Council application fees and third-party reports or drawings are separate unless expressly included.
Not sure which route applies to your property?
Send us the address and what you are proposing. We will tell you whether there is a Prior Approval or permitted development route worth pursuing, before you commit to anything.
info@planningservicesonline.co.uk
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