Whilst news outlets widely reported on Government plans to help ‘extend homes upwards and revitalise town centres’, by broadening the permitted developments rights to demolish and rebuild unused buildings, and add a new floor (or even two) to people’s homes, it is perhaps the lesser reported planning changes which are more radical.  The new regulations (or the “Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020”, if you prefer the catchier title), come into force on 1 September 2020. They create new use planning use classes, namely Class E (“commercial, business and services” uses); Class F1 (“learning and non-residential institutions” uses); and Class F2 (“local community” uses); and reclassify a number of uses. In short, the regulations seek to ‘simplify’ the system of use classes in England by creating a new broad Class E. The ‘Commercial, Business and Service’ use class will … Continue reading →