Use Classes Order 1987 – Quick Reference Guide

The document on this page provides a quick reference guide for "The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987" (as amended). This document incorporates the Use Classes from the "Use Classes Order 1987 (Consolidated)" document and the permitted changes of use and temporary uses from Parts 3 and 4 of the "GPDO 2015 (Consolidated)" document.

Document:

Note: For a 31/08/2020 version (UCO 1987) + 31/07/2021 version (GPDO 2015) of the above document, please view below at the end of this page.

Screenshots for the above document:

This is the first example screenshot for the above document, which provides a quick reference guide for the "The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987" (as amended).  This is the second example screenshot for the above document, which provides a quick reference guide for the "The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 1987" (as amended).

Statistics for the above document:

Notes:

  • For the definitions of the Use Classes, the above document aims to remain as close as possible to the wording of the legislation (rather than paraphrasing this wording), and where parts of this wording have been omitted (for reasons of conciseness) this is indicated via the use of "...".
  • For the permitted changes of use and temporary uses, it’s important to always check the legislation (e.g. via the links within the above document), as many of the Classes of the GPDO 2015 contain limitations and conditions that exclude certain types of buildings, or set out various other restrictions, or require an application for prior approval (or similar) to be submitted to the local authority, etc.

How is the above document different from the other versions available online:

  • The above document is more up-to-date than many of the other versions of the Use Classes Order 1987 that are available online. For example, a review on 25/03/2013 of the first 10 versions that resulted from a search on Google for "Use Classes Order" found the following:
    - 40% of these other versions had not been updated with Use Class C4 (introduced 3 years earlier in April 2010 by SI 2010 No. 653).
    - 70% of these other versions had not been updated with the permitted change of use from C3 to C4 (introduced 2 1/2 years earlier in October 2010 by SI 2010 No. 2134).
    - 90% of these other versions had not been updated with the permitted change of use from A1 to A1 & up to 2 flats (introduced 6 months earlier in October 2012 by SI 2012 No. 2257).
  • The above document contains more references than many of the other versions of the Use Classes Order 1987 that are available online. For example, for each sentence in the Use Classes Order 1987 that has been amended since the original version, the above document provides a link to the amendment Statutory Instrument, enabling the user to view the actual legislation.
  • The above document includes a flowchart that illustrates the interactions between the Use Classes - i.e. showing the permitted changes of use and temporary uses from Parts 3 and 4 of the GPDO 2015 (as amended).
  • The above document also includes a diagram showing how to match up the 31/08/2020 Use Classes and the CURRENT Use Classes.

EXTRACT showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2015:

Screenshots for the above extract:

This is the first example screenshot for the above document, which is an extract showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2015.  This is the second example screenshot for the above document, which is an extract showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2015.

EXTRACT showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2020:

Screenshots for the above extract:

This is the first example screenshot for the above document, which is an extract showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2020.  This is the second example screenshot for the above document, which is an extract showing the interactions dated May 2010 versus the interactions dated May 2020.

Updates:

31/08/2020 version (UCO 1987) + 31/07/2021 version (GPDO 2015) version of the above document: