In EPPING FOREST DC v SOMANI HOTELS LIMITED (2025) EWHC 2183 (KB) Eyre J from paragraph 25 sets out the relevant planning framework in relation to making a planning application for a material change in the use of buildings or land and when that will and will not amount to “development” requiring planning permission. There are two questions: whether a use is a change from the permitted use; and, if so, whether it is a change which is “material” in terms of planning considerations. The questions of whether there has been a change of use and, if so whether the change is material, involves matters of law and fact. Both questions are ultimately fact-specific and call for the application of planning judgment in particular circumstances.
There were in this case a number of factors which operated against a finding that there had been a change of use , and a number of other factors which supported such a finding. Questions as to whether interim relief is appropriate in a particular case will be “highly fact-sensitive”.