Change of use planning permission

For businesses taking on new premises in Scotland

Most businesses discover the planning problem after they have signed. The building is the right size, in the right place, at the right rent, and in the wrong use class.

Putting that right afterwards costs months. Checking it first costs very little.

The question to ask before you sign

What use class is the building in now, what use class does your business need, and does the change require a planning application or is it permitted development?

The answer sets your timescale. Some changes happen automatically. Others need a full application, which in Scotland normally runs to two months for a local application and longer if it goes to committee. If your lease starts before your consent does, that gap is yours to pay for.

Scotland has its own Use Classes Order, and it is not the same as the English one. Advice written for England will not reliably tell you the answer here.

What we do

Use class assessment on a building you are considering, before you commit. Change of use applications and the supporting statement. Fit-out, alteration and extension consents. Advertisement consent for signage, which is a separate consent and is routinely forgotten. Listed building consent where the premises are listed, which most of central Glasgow and Edinburgh is.

Where you are still searching, we can assess a shortlist of buildings on planning grounds and tell you which ones will not work. That is considerably cheaper than finding out from a refusal.

The changes that usually need permission

Offices to residential. Retail to food and drink, where extraction, odour and opening hours all come into play. Industrial or storage units to gyms, studios, trampoline parks and other leisure uses, where parking and noise are the issues. Agricultural buildings to commercial use. Anything involving hot food, alcohol or late hours, where planning and licensing have to be handled together.

Businesses moving into Scotland

If you are relocating from England or opening a Scottish operation, the planning system here is separate. Different use classes, a different policy framework in NPF4, different timescales and different councils. We handle the property and planning side so it does not hold up the move, and we will tell you early if a building that looks ideal is going to be a problem.

We work with commercial agents and solicitors throughout, and are happy to be brought in at the viewing stage rather than after missives.

Talk to us

Call Paul Hughes MRICS MRTPI on 0785 256 8874 or email paul@glenetiveprojects.co.uk. A first look at a building usually takes one conversation.