Change of Use Planning: How Much Does It Cost?

Change of Use Planning: How Much Does It Cost?

What is Change of Use Planning Permission?

If you are planning on changing the function of a building from one use to another, then the likely route you will go down is seeking what is known as Change of Use Planning Permission. 

This sort of permission is specifically used for taking an existing plot or building that has been approved for one use class, and seeking to use it for something else instead. 

In technical terms, this is known as changing its “use class”. 

Use Class is a planning term that outlines what the function/use of a building is. There are numerous use classes which are identified with a letter and a number. For example, a hairdressers would be considered a use class A1. If you wanted to convert that shop into a training centre, then that would be classed as D1, a non-residential institution. In order to make that change, you would require Change of Use Planning Permission.

There are four main areas of use class – A (which covers retail and professional services), B (which covers business, industrial and storage, C (which covers residential property – including care homes and hotels) and D (which covers leisure and other ‘institutions’).

Each of these is then further subdivided into more specific categories (A2, C2a etc). A list of use classes can be reviewed on the planning portal. 

Change of Use Planning Permitted Development

Remember, that like other parts of the planning system, you do not always need planning permission – some Change of Use Planning will be allowed under Permitted Development rules. Before incurring costs of applying, speak to a Planning Consultant, or your Local Planning Authority, to find out if your scheme is allowed through this route or whether you require Change of Use Planning Permission. 

Seeking Prior Approval for Change of Use Planning

However, even if you are able to go down the Permitted Development route, for some Change of Use Planning, you will still need to seek something called ‘Prior Approval’ from your local council.  This is a condition attached to changes that might be allowed under Permitted Development and allows the Local Planning Authority to consider the proposals and their potential impact on the local area. A Planning Consultant will be able to advise on this requirement. 

Prior Approval application costs vary depending on the changes you are proposing, but will usually cost a set fee of £96 or £206 for most Change of Use Planning. 

How Much Does Change of Use Planning Cost?

As ever in the planning system, the costs of submitting the Change of Use Planning application itself are only a small part of the overall picture when it comes to budgets.

The costs of the planning application itself are relatively straightforward. The cost for most applications for Change of Use Planning to land or a building is £462. 

This increases if you are looking at converting land or a building to create housing. In those cases, the cost is £462 per ‘dwellinghouse’ (which is what the writers of planning rules like to call houses and flats), for less than 50 houses. If it is for more than 50 houses, then the cost of the Change of Use Planning application is £22,859, plus £138 for each additional house (up to a maximum of £300,000).

Aside from big housing developments, or converting offices into flats however, the cost that most applications incur is £462.

Other Costs

Of course, the cost of submitting a Change of Use Planning  application is not the only cost that you need to consider. As with all planning applications, there are a series of documents, plans and drawings that you have to submit as part of your application.  Producing this is a cost that you will need to budget for. These will include plans for the site location and block, along with existing and proposed floor plans and ‘elevations’ (drawings of what the building will look like). 

Depending on your project, you might also need to submit a Design and Access Statement. It is worth speaking to a Planning Consultant about whether a Design and Access Statement is necessary in your case, and if so, what it should say. 

A Planning Consultant will be able to advise on all matters in relation to Change of Use Planning.

At UK Planning Consultants, we offer Change of Use Planning in the following locations: Change of Use Planning Bristol, Change of Use Planning London, Change of Use Planning Manchester.