Found the perfect unit for your restaurant, café or takeaway? Before you sign the lease, there is one question you need to answer: can the property legally be used for your business? In planning terms, this is about the property's use class, and getting it wrong can lead to enforcement action, a wasted fit-out and a business you cannot run.
This guide explains how change of use works in England for food and drink businesses, when you need planning permission and when you do not.
What Is a Use Class?
Every building has a lawful planning use. The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987 groups similar uses into "classes". Since 1 September 2020, most high street uses in England have been grouped into a single class: Class E (Commercial, Business and Service).
Class E includes, among others:
- E(a): shops (other than for the sale of hot food)
- E(b): sale of food and drink mostly consumed on the premises, such as restaurants and cafés
- E(c): financial, professional and other services
- E(d): indoor sport, recreation and fitness
- E(e): medical and health services
- E(f): creches and day nurseries
- E(g): offices, research and development, and light industrial uses
Some uses sit outside any class. These are called sui generis ("of its own kind"). For food and drink businesses, the most important sui generis uses are:
- Hot food takeaways (previously Class A5)
- Pubs, wine bars and drinking establishments, including those with expanded food provision (previously Class A4)
- Nightclubs and live music venues
When You Do Not Need Planning Permission
Changing from one use to another within the same use class is not "development", so it does not normally need planning permission. That means a former shop, bank, office or gym in Class E can usually become a restaurant or café (Class E(b)) without a change of use application.
There are also some permitted development rights that allow certain changes without a full application. For example:
- A hot food takeaway can change to a Class E use, such as a café or restaurant, provided you give the council written notice of the date the use will change before it happens.
- A pub or bar can change to a drinking establishment with expanded food provision (a "pub with food"), and back again.
But check for restrictions. Even where a change would normally be allowed, it may still need permission if:
- an earlier planning permission has a condition limiting the use (for example, "retail use only") or restricting opening hours;
- the council has made an Article 4 direction removing permitted development rights in that area; or
- the property is listed or in a conservation area and you are carrying out works.
When You Do Need Planning Permission
You will need a full planning application for a change of use if you are moving from Class E to a sui generis use, or between sui generis uses. Common examples include:
- a shop, café or restaurant becoming a hot food takeaway;
- a shop, café or restaurant becoming a pub or bar;
- any premises becoming a nightclub or live music venue; and
- a takeaway becoming a pub or bar.
Takeaway applications in particular often face extra scrutiny. Many councils have local policies limiting the number of takeaways in a parade, or restricting new takeaways near schools.
Restaurant or Takeaway? The Grey Area
Many restaurants also sell food to take away, and many takeaways have a few seats. The question is which use is the main one. Class E(b) covers food and drink mostly consumed on the premises.
If takeaway sales are only a minor, ancillary part of a restaurant, the use is still a restaurant. If takeaway becomes the main business, the use may have changed to a hot food takeaway, which needs planning permission. This is a matter of fact and degree, and councils will look at factors such as the number of covers, the layout, the proportion of takeaway sales and delivery activity.
If you plan significant takeaway or delivery trade from a restaurant, take advice before you open.
Building Works Are Separate
Even if the use does not need permission, the works might. Food businesses commonly need separate consents for:
- Kitchen extraction and external flues, which usually need planning permission and an odour and noise assessment
- Air conditioning units (see our guide: Do You Need Planning Permission for Air Conditioning?)
- New shopfronts
- Illuminated signs, which may need advertisement consent
- Any works to a listed building, which need listed building consent
How to Check a Property's Lawful Use
- Search the council's planning portal for the address. Look at past permissions, conditions and any enforcement history.
- Ask the landlord or agent for the planning history and current lawful use.
- Check for conditions on opening hours, use restrictions, extraction and deliveries.
- Check for Article 4 directions and conservation areas.
- If you are still unsure, consider applying for a Lawful Development Certificate, which gives you formal confirmation from the council.
The Change of Use Application
A typical application for a food and drink business includes:
- application form and fee;
- site location plan and block plan;
- existing and proposed floor plans and elevations;
- details of any extraction system, with an odour and noise assessment where required;
- proposed opening hours, waste storage and delivery arrangements; and
- a planning statement explaining how the proposal meets local policy.
Councils aim to decide most applications of this kind within 8 weeks of validation. Fees change from time to time, so check the current fee using the Planning Portal fee calculator.
Planning and Licensing Go Hand in Hand
Planning permission and a premises licence are separate regimes, and you need both. One does not replace the other. A common problem is a mismatch in hours: if your planning permission says you must close at 11pm, a premises licence until 1am does not allow you to stay open later. You must comply with both.
Plan your planning application and licence application together, so the hours, layout and conditions match. Read more: What Is a Premises Licence and How Do You Apply?
What If You Change Use Without Permission?
Operating without the correct planning permission is a breach of planning control. The council can issue an enforcement notice requiring you to stop the use, and failing to comply is a criminal offence. It can also make it harder to get or keep a premises licence, sell the business or renew your lease. It is much cheaper to get it right before you open.
Opening in Wales?
This guide covers England. Wales has its own use classes and has not adopted Class E, so the rules are different. If your premises is in Wales, check with the local planning authority or contact us for advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need planning permission to turn a shop into a restaurant or café?
Usually not. Shops and restaurants or cafés are both within Class E, so the change is normally allowed without planning permission. Check that there are no planning conditions restricting the use, and remember that works such as extraction or a new shopfront may still need permission.
Do I need planning permission to open a takeaway?
Yes, in most cases. Hot food takeaways are sui generis, so changing a shop, café or restaurant into a takeaway needs a change of use application.
Can a restaurant sell takeaway food?
Yes, as long as takeaway remains a minor, ancillary part of the business. If takeaway becomes the main activity, the use may have changed and planning permission may be needed.
Can a takeaway become a café without planning permission?
Yes. A hot food takeaway can change to a Class E use, such as a café or restaurant, under permitted development, provided you give the council written notice of the date of the change before it happens.
What use class is a pub or bar?
Pubs, wine bars and drinking establishments are sui generis. Turning a shop, café or restaurant into a bar needs planning permission.
How long does a change of use application take?
Councils aim to decide most applications of this kind within 8 weeks of the application being validated. Allow extra time for preparing drawings and any reports.
Need Help?
Anka Advisory Group helps food and drink businesses across England and Wales with planning and licensing, in English and Turkish. We can check a property's planning history before you sign a lease, prepare change of use and extraction applications, and coordinate your planning and premises licence applications so they work together.
Call or WhatsApp us on +44 7378 501348, or contact us here.
Read more: How to Open a Restaurant, Cafe or Takeaway in England: A Step-by-Step Guide
By Elif Goksal, APLH, Founder & Managing Director, Anka Advisory Group. This article is general information and not legal advice.