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Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. Legislation and case law change. Always consult a qualified solicitor for your specific situation.

UK Law Reference
Full glossary
Legal term
Planning & Land Use Law

Permitted Development

Building work or a change of use that can be carried out without a separate application for planning permission, because permission has already been granted nationally by the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015.

Independent editorial summary — not the official statute text. Read the official version on legislation.gov.uk.

Article 3 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, headed 'Permitted development', provides that 'planning permission is hereby granted for the classes of development described as permitted development in Schedule 2.' Rather than each project requiring an individual application to the Local Planning Authority, the Order grants planning permission in advance for defined categories of minor development, such as certain extensions, outbuildings, and changes of use.

That automatic permission is not unconditional: the Order states that 'Any permission granted by paragraph (1) is subject to any relevant exception, limitation or condition specified in Schedule 2', so the specific class in Schedule 2 must be checked to see whether size limits, conditions, or prior approval requirements apply. Permitted development rights can also be removed for a particular property, for example by an Article 4 direction or a planning condition, in which case an ordinary application for planning permission is needed even for work that would otherwise fall within the general Order.

Related terms

Official sources

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