The Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026

S.R. 2026/80 · Made 22 April 2026 · Extends to Northern Ireland

Planning

Made 22nd April 2026

Coming into operation 13th May 2026

The Department for Infrastructure makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 32 and 247(6) of the Planning Act (Northern Ireland) 2011^f1 and now vested in it^f2.

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1: 2011 c.25 (N.I.)
f2: S.R. 2016 No. 76, article 8(1)(b) and Schedule 5, Part 2.

1Citation and commencement
2Amendment of the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015
Signature
Schedule: AMENDMENTS TO PART 34 OF THE SCHEDULE TO THE PLANNING (GENERAL PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT) ORDER (NORTHERN IRELAND) 2015
3Paragraph 3
Explanatory note

1Citation and commencementI1

This Order may be cited as the Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2026 and comes into operation on 13th May 2026.

2Amendment of the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015I1

In the Schedule (development permitted under Article 3) to the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015^f1 Part 34 (Shops, financial and professional services establishments) is amended as set out in the Schedule to this order.

Signature

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department for Infrastructure on 22nd April 2026.

L.S.

Rosemary Daly

A senior officer of the Department for Infrastructure

3I1

After Class D insert—

“
Class E
Permitted development E. The installation, alteration or replacement of a reverse vending machine in a wall of a shop or within the curtilage of a shop.
Development not permitted E.1
Development is not permitted by Class E if—
(a)
the reverse vending machine would exceed 4 metres in height;
(b)
the floor space of the reverse vending machine would exceed 80 square metres;
(c)
in the case of a reverse vending machine installed in the wall of a shop, any part of the machine would protrude more than 2 metres beyond the outer surface of that wall;
(d)
it would be situated within 15 metres of the curtilage of a building used for residential purposes;
(e)
it would face onto and be within 5 metres of a road;
(f)
the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted;
(g)
the development would be within a conservation area, a World Heritage Site, an area of special scientific interest or a site of archaeological interest.
Conditions E.2
Development is permitted by Class E subject to the following conditions—
(a)
where the reverse vending machine is no longer in operation the development must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable; and
(b)
the land on which the development was situated, including any wall in which the development was installed must, as soon as reasonably practicable, and so far as reasonably practicable, be reinstated to its condition before the development was carried out.
Interpretation of Class E E.3
For the purposes of Class E-
“deposit item” has the meaning given in regulation 4 of The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025^f1;
“reverse vending machine” means a machine for the purpose of accepting deposit items, reimbursing deposits for each deposit item accepted, and retaining the deposit item for collection within the meaning of The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025 and any associated enclosure, building, canopy or other structure;
“shop” means a building used for any purpose within Class A1 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order.
”

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015 (“the 2015 Order”).

The Schedule of this Order amends Part 34 (Shops, financial and professional services establishments) of the Schedule to the 2015 Order to expand the scope of that permitted development by adding a new Class E (Reverse vending machines).

The Explanatory Memorandum is available alongside the Order on the government’s website www.legislation.gov.uk.

Class E
Permitted development	E.	The installation, alteration or replacement of a reverse vending machine in a wall of a shop or within the curtilage of a shop.
Development not permitted	E.1	Development is not permitted by Class E if— (a) the reverse vending machine would exceed 4 metres in height; (b) the floor space of the reverse vending machine would exceed 80 square metres; (c) in the case of a reverse vending machine installed in the wall of a shop, any part of the machine would protrude more than 2 metres beyond the outer surface of that wall; (d) it would be situated within 15 metres of the curtilage of a building used for residential purposes; (e) it would face onto and be within 5 metres of a road; (f) the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted; (g) the development would be within a conservation area, a World Heritage Site, an area of special scientific interest or a site of archaeological interest.
Conditions	E.2	Development is permitted by Class E subject to the following conditions— (a) where the reverse vending machine is no longer in operation the development must be removed as soon as reasonably practicable; and (b) the land on which the development was situated, including any wall in which the development was installed must, as soon as reasonably practicable, and so far as reasonably practicable, be reinstated to its condition before the development was carried out.
Interpretation of Class E	E.3	For the purposes of Class E- “deposit item” has the meaning given in regulation 4 of The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025^f1; “reverse vending machine” means a machine for the purpose of accepting deposit items, reimbursing deposits for each deposit item accepted, and retaining the deposit item for collection within the meaning of The Deposit Scheme for Drinks Containers (England and Northern Ireland) Regulations 2025 and any associated enclosure, building, canopy or other structure; “shop” means a building used for any purpose within Class A1 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order.