At present planning permission is required for any change of use to a hot food takeaway however, with increasing restrictions on the public and business due to the Coronavirus outbreak, the Government is proposing to temporarily relax permitted development rights to allow pubs and restaurants to operate as hot food takeaways.
Secondary legislation is to be published allowing the temporary change of use of a pub (A4 - drinking establishment) and a restaurant (A3 – restaurants and cafes) to a hot-food take away for a period of up to 12 months. Businesses will be required to tell the local planning authority when the new use begins and ends.
Presumably the right will extend to include businesses falling within a mixed A4 and A3 use (i.e. drinking establishments with expanded food provision), but this is not clear from the press release and we will need to see the detail in the draft secondary legislation.
We expect the Government to rush out the draft secondary legislation within the next few weeks, so that businesses can benefit from the changes as soon as possible.
These changes will provide vital flexibility to pubs and restaurants and will ensure people are able to safely stay at home while still supporting some of the great local businesses across this country.
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