GPDO Articles in England

The Articles are the legal framework which makes the English GPDO work. They tell us where the Order applies, define important words, grant the planning permission behind permitted development, allow rights to be restricted and set rules for prior approval and other procedures.

The individual development rights are mainly found in Schedule 2, split into Parts and Classes. The Articles sit above those rights and apply across the Order unless a more specific provision says otherwise.

For the complete permitted development index, including all Parts and Classes, use the main English GPDO section.

Articles in the English GPDO

• Article 1 – Citation, commencement and application – what the Order is called, when it began and where it applies
• Article 2 – Interpretation – definitions, height measurement, Article 2 land and electronic documents
• Article 3 – Permitted development – the provision which grants the planning permission behind Schedule 2
• Article 4 – Directions restricting permitted development – how specified permitted development rights can be withdrawn
• Article 5 – Mineral development directions – specialist directions for certain Part 17 development
• Article 6 – Directions: general – confirms that a direction-making power includes power to cancel or vary the direction
• Article 7 – Prior approval decision periods – the general timing rule for prior approval decisions
• Article 7ZA – Prior approval call-in – modifies the process while the Secretary of State considers call-in
• Article 7A – Review – requires periodic review of Articles 1 to 7ZA
• Article 8 – Revocations and saving – the transition from earlier English GPDO instruments to the 2015 Order

Although the Order is numbered Articles 1 to 8, later amendments inserted Articles 7ZA and 7A. That is why this index has ten Article pages rather than eight.

How the Articles connect to the Schedules

A useful way to picture the structure is:

Articles → Schedules → Parts → Classes

But the four Schedules have different jobs:

• Schedule 1 describes the protected land referred to by Article 2
• Schedule 2 contains the individual permitted development rights operated through Article 3
• Schedule 3 contains the procedure for Article 4 directions
• Schedule 4 lists the older statutory instruments revoked by Article 8 so far as they applied to England

Start with Schedule 1 and Article 2 protected land, or go directly to the full GPDO index if you are looking for a particular Part or Class.

Why read the Articles as well as the Class?

A proposal can look as though it meets an individual permitted development Class and still fail because a wider Article applies.

For example, Article 3 can prevent reliance on a right where the building or use on which it depends is unlawful, where an existing planning condition conflicts with the development, or where one of the wider highway, EIA or other restrictions applies. Article 4 can remove specified rights in a defined area.

So the safe approach is to read the relevant Class together with the Articles which apply to it.

Other GPDO Articles

The Articles are the framework for the General Permitted Development Order in England. Use the links below to move between the Articles or return to the main permitted development section.

Legal check: 6th September 2026