The GPDO 2015

01 Jan 2018

Planning and Environment

Today the 43 Parts of the General Permitted Development Order become 19, as the GPDO 1995 (in its much amended form) is revoked and replaced by the GPDO 2015 with effect from the 15th April 2015.
Also in force today is the amendment to the Use Classes Order [SI 2015/597] which makes betting shops and payday loan shops sui generis uses.

The new provisions were trailed in the Technical Consultation on Planning carried out in July 2014 and were laid before Parliament less than a week before it was dissolved, on the 24th March 2015.

If you click here, you will find a note setting out the provisions of the new GPDO and the location of their equivalent, if any, in the 1995 Order. The main innovations are

  1. The date for expiry of the time-limited permission to make larger home extensions is extended from 2016 to 2019 [Part 1 Class
  2. The previously time-limited permitted development rights for extensions to non-domestic properties have been made permanent [Part 7].
  3. A variety of extra permissions for change of use have been added, notably
    • Retail to restaurants/cafes [Part 3 Class C]
    • Shop or betting office to A2 [Part 3 Classes D and F]
    • Retail to D2 [Part 3 Class J]
    • Casinos or amusement arcades to dwelling houses [Part 3 Class N]
    • B8 to dwelling houses [Part 3 Class P]
  4. A new permission for temporary use of building and land for commercial film making [Part 4 Class E].
  5. Permission for certain development ancillary to a retail use, including the provision of “click and collect” facilities within the curtilage of a shop and the extension of a loading bay [Part 7 Class C and D].
  6. A new permission for the extension of buildings used for waste facilities [Part 7 Class L].
  7. A new permission for solar PV on the roof of non-domestic premises with a limit of 1 megawatt of generating capacity [Part 14 Class Jc)].

There is greater use of the prior approval procedure than before, and of course there are stated limitations, exclusions and conditions subject to which the new rights are granted. Please do not hesitate to contact any member of the Cornerstone Planning Team for advice on the scope and effect of the rights conferred by the GPDO 2015.