Class MA is a permitted development right that allows a Class E commercial building (offices, shops, gyms, clinics and similar) to change use to residential without a full planning application. It's not automatic — you still need prior approval from the council, which assesses a defined set of matters rather than the full range a planning application would cover, and is generally faster and cheaper as a result.

It needs to have been in genuine Class E use for at least two years, and mustn't be excluded by an Article 4 direction, listed status, or a conservation area position that removes the right. Since March 2024 there's no floorspace cap and no requirement for the building to have been vacant beforehand, which has made a much wider range of buildings viable. We check all of this before recommending detailed design.

Inadequate natural light to habitable rooms is the most common reason Class MA applications are refused, particularly on deep floorplates. We screen this at feasibility stage against recognised daylight standards, before you've committed to a layout — if a straightforward Class MA route isn't viable, we'll tell you rather than let a prior approval application fail on it.

The council has 56 days to determine a prior approval application, after which consent is deemed granted if they haven't responded. That's typically much faster than a full planning application, though the strength of the submission on matters like natural light and flood risk still shapes the outcome within that window.

Yes — feasibility, the prior approval application itself, detailed design and construction are all managed under one contract, with one team accountable from the first desktop check through to Building Control sign-off.