# The Planning (General Permitted Development) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015, Part 34: SHOPS, FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ESTABLISHMENTS


Class A
Permitted development
A.
The extension or alteration of a shop or financial or professional services establishment.
Development not permitted
A.1
Development is not permitted by Class A if—
(a) the floor space of the original building would be exceeded by more than—
(i) 50% ; or
(ii) 100 square metres;
whichever is the lesser;
(b) the height of the building as extended would exceed 5 metres;
(c) any part of the development, other than an alteration, would be within 2 metres of any boundary of the curtilage of the premises;
(d) the development would consist of or include the construction or provision of a veranda, balcony or raised platform;
(e) the development would lead to a reduction in the space available for the parking or turning of vehicles;
(f) the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted;
(g) any extension or alteration would be in a conservation area, a World Heritage Site, an area of special scientific interest or a site of archaeological interest;
(h) any part of the development would extend beyond an existing shop front; or
(i) the development would involve the insertion or creation of a new shop front or the alteration or replacement of an existing shop front.
Conditions
A.2
Development is permitted by Class A subject to the following conditions—
(a) any alteration shall be at ground floor level only;
(b) any extension shall be constructed using materials which have a similar external appearance to those used for the building being extended; and
(c) any extension or alteration shall only be used as part of, or for a purpose incidental to the use of the shop or financial or professional services establishment.
Interpretation of Class A
A.3
For the purposes of Class A—
(a) where two or more original buildings are within the same curtilage and are used for the same undertaking they are to be treated as a single original building in making any measurement;
(b) “raised platform” means a platform with a height greater than 0.3 metres above ground level;
(c) “shop or financial or professional services establishment” means a building, or part of a building, used for any purposes within Classes A1 or A2 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order and includes buildings with other uses in other parts as long as the other uses are not within the parts being altered or extended.
Class B
Permitted development
B.
The erection or construction of a trolley store within the curtilage of a shop.
Development not permitted
B.1
Development is not permitted by Class B if—
(a) the floor space of the building or enclosure erected would exceed 20 square metres;
(b) any part of the development would be within 20 metres of any curtilage of any dwellinghouse or flat;
(c) the height of the building or enclosure would exceed 2.5 metres;
(d) the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted;
(e) the development would be in a conservation area, a World Heritage Site, an area of special scientific interest or a site of archaeological interest; or
(f) the development would be between a shop front and a road where the distance between the shop front and the boundary of the curtilage of the premises is less than 5 metres.
Conditions
B.2
Development is permitted by Class B subject to the condition that the building or enclosure is only used for the storage of shopping trolleys.
Interpretation of Class B
B.3
For the purposes of Class B—
“shop” means a building used for any purpose within Class A1 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order; and
“trolley store” means a building or enclosure designed to be used for the storage of shopping trolleys.
Class C
Permitted development
C.
Development consisting of—
(a) the provision of a hard surface within the curtilage of a shop, financial or professional services establishment; or
(b) the replacement in whole or in part of such a surface.
Development not permitted
C.1
Development is not permitted by Class C if—
(a) the cumulative area of ground covered by a hard surface within the curtilage of the premises (other than hard surfaces already existing on 19th September 2012) would exceed 50 square metres; or
(b) the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted.
Conditions
C.2
Development is permitted by Class C subject to the following conditions—
(a) where there is a risk of groundwater contamination the hard surface shall not be made of porous materials;
(b) in all other cases, either—
(i) the hard surface shall be made of porous materials; or
(ii) provision shall be made to direct run-off water from the hard surface to a permeable or porous area or surface within the curtilage of the undertaking.
Interpretation of Class C
C.3
For the purposes of Class C “shop or financial or professional services establishment” means a building, or part of a building, used for any purposes within Classes A1 or A2 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order.
Class D
Permitted development
D.
Development of modification of a loading bay of a shop.
Development not permitted
D.1.
Development is not permitted by Class D if—
(a)the size of the original loading bay, when measured in any dimension, would be increased by more than 20%;
(b)the development would be within the curtilage of a listed building unless listed building consent has previously been granted;
(c)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
D.2.
Development is permitted by Class D subject to the condition that the materials used must be of a similar appearance to those used in the construction of the exterior of the shop.
Interpretation of Class D
D.3.
For the purposes of Class D—
“goods vehicle” has the same meaning as the meaning given in Article 2 of the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) 1981;
“loading bay” means any facility, including vehicle ramps, for the loading or unloading of goods vehicles;
“shop” means a building used for any purpose within Class A1 of the Schedule to the Use Classes Order.
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;
“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.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2015/70/schedule/part/34 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/planning-general-permitted-development-order-northern-ireland-2015/schedule/part-34
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.