In the most recent amendment to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (GPDO) 2015 (as amended), the new 'Class G' under part 2, Schedule 2 was inserted.
This class refers to 'Movable structures for pubs, restaurants etc'.
The GPDO provides 'deemed consent' for certain forms of development. Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act (TCPA) 1990 (as amended) outlines the meaning of 'development' which is 'the carrying out of building, engineering, mining or other operations in, on, over or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land'. It continues to state that 'building operations' include: 'a) demolition of buildings, b) rebuilding, c) structural alterations of or additions to buildings, and d) other operations normally undertaken by a person carrying on business as a builder'.
The above description does not include 'moveable structures' as development and it has been long established that moveable structures, with little to no degree of permanence, do not class as development and therefore do not require any consent, deemed or express, to be erected or placed.
It is therefore difficult to understand how 'deemed consent' is being given to these moveable structures, which technically don't require consent in the first place, as they have not been included within Seciton 55 of the TCPA.
Does this mean that we will see a change in what constitutes 'development' through an amendment to Section 55? With the season for outdoor seating approaching, will we see an increase in enforcement cases against these 'moveable structures'?
We'd love to hear your opinion on this!
Watch this space...
