Relaxation of planning rules for pubs & restaurants

The government has announced planning rules will be relaxed so pubs and restaurants can operate as hot foot takeaways during the coronavirus outbreak.  Permitted development rights will be introduced through secondary legislation to allow the change of use of a pub (A4) and a restaurant (A3) to a hot-food take away for a temporary period of up to 12 months.  More details can be found here.

A Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) was also published last week relaxing delivery restrictions to supermarkets, food retailers and distribution centres in response to the coronavirus. The WMS only covers England and will be withdrawn ‘once the immediate urgency has subsided’.  The WMS can be found here.

For more advice about these temporary relaxations, please feel free to contact a member of the Firstplan team.