Class B demolition of buildings: planning permission and prior approval

 

Class B demolition can grant planning permission for the demolition of a building in England, but the words “demolition”, “building” and “permitted development” hide a surprisingly complicated legal sequence. Before relying on Class B, you need to establish whether the works are development at all, whether demolition in a conservation area is relevant demolition, and whether Class B is available or requires prior approval.

The distinction is important. A building of no more than 50 cubic metres can fall outside planning control for demolition altogether, while a building in a conservation area of more than 50 but no more than 115 cubic metres can be development but not relevant demolition. Walls, fences and gates have a different route under Class C.

This page brings together the current Part 11 of the GPDO, section 55 and section 196D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, sections 74 and 75 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, and the two Secretary of State directions which create the 50 cubic metre and 115 cubic metre thresholds.

 

 

Start with three separate demolition questions

 

There is no single test called “the demolition rule”. Work through these questions in order:

1. Is the demolition development? Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and the Town and Country Planning (Demolition – Description of Buildings) Direction 2021 decide whether planning control is engaged at all
2. If it is in a conservation area, is it relevant demolition? Section 196D, sections 74 and 75 of the Listed Buildings Act and the Conservation Areas Direction 2015 answer this
3. If planning permission is needed but the works are not relevant demolition, does Class B or Class C grant it? Class B deals with demolition of a building. Class C deals with the whole or part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure

A conclusion at one stage does not answer the next. In particular, being excluded from the definition of relevant demolition does not necessarily mean the works are outside planning control. They may still be development for which Class B or Class C is the planning permission.

 

Question 1: is the demolition development at all?

 

Section 55(1A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 includes demolition within building operations. However, section 55(2)(g) allows the Secretary of State to direct that specified demolition is not development.

The current 2021 Demolition Direction means that:

• demolition of a building with a cubic content of 50 cubic metres or less, measured externally, is not development
• demolition of the whole or any part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure is normally not development
• the wall, gate, fence and enclosure exemption does not apply where the structure is in a conservation area
• the Direction does not take statues, monuments and memorials out of planning control in the same way

The 50 cubic metre rule is not limited to land outside conservation areas. A small ordinary building of no more than 50 cubic metres can therefore be outside the definition of development even within a conservation area, although separate controls such as listed building consent, scheduled monument consent or other legislation may still apply.

If the demolition is development, that does not mean a full planning application is automatically required. The next questions are whether it is relevant demolition and, if not, whether the GPDO itself grants planning permission.

 

Class B is for demolition of a building, not simply part of one

 

The GPDO contains an unusually important interpretation rule. Article 2 normally says that “building” includes part of a building, but it expressly makes an exception for Class B of Part 11. Class B therefore should not be treated as a general permission for stripping out or demolishing part of an otherwise retained building.

That does not mean partial works are automatically outside planning control. They may be an alteration, they may constitute demolition under another statutory provision, or they may require another planning permission. Walls, gates and fences are different because Class C expressly refers to demolition of the whole or any part of those structures.

 

Question 2: what is relevant demolition in a conservation area?

 

Section 196D of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 creates the criminal offence relating to relevant demolition. In broad terms, relevant demolition is demolition of a building in a conservation area in England unless the building is excluded from section 74 by section 75 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 or by a Secretary of State direction.

The current exclusions come from section 75 and the Conservation Areas (Application of Section 74 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990) Direction 2015. They include:

• a listed building, which is controlled through the separate listed building consent regime
• an ecclesiastical building currently used for ecclesiastical purposes, subject to the detail and exceptions in section 75
• a scheduled monument, which has its own consent regime
• a building with a cubic content of 115 cubic metres or less, measured externally, other than the specified pre-1925 tombstone exception
• a gate, wall, fence or other means of enclosure less than 1 metre high where it abuts a highway, including a public footpath or bridleway, a waterway or open space, or less than 2 metres high in any other case
• a building erected since 1st January 1914 which is in use, or was last used, for agriculture or forestry
• specified demolition required by a section 102 order, section 106 obligation, enforcement notice, planning condition, section 215 notice, certain Housing Act procedures or the other statutory routes listed in the 2015 Direction

These are exclusions from relevant demolition, not a universal statement that no planning permission is needed. For example, an ordinary 80 cubic metre building in a conservation area is too large to fall outside development under the 50 cubic metre rule, but it is small enough to be excluded from relevant demolition under the 115 cubic metre rule. Its demolition can therefore be development for which Class B grants planning permission, normally subject to the Class B prior approval procedure.

 

The 50 cubic metre and 115 cubic metre rules are different

 

Situation	Planning position for demolition
Ordinary building of 50 m³ or less	Normally not development under the 2021 Demolition Direction. Other consent regimes can still apply
Building over 50 m³ but no more than 115 m³ in a conservation area	Development, but normally not relevant demolition. Class B may grant planning permission, usually subject to prior approval
Building over 115 m³ in a conservation area	Potentially relevant demolition. Check every section 75 and 2015 Direction exclusion. If it is relevant demolition, Class B is unavailable and planning permission is required
Building over 50 m³ outside a conservation area	Development. Class B may grant planning permission, usually subject to prior approval
Gate, fence, wall or enclosure outside a conservation area	Normally not development under the 2021 Demolition Direction
Gate, fence, wall or enclosure in a conservation area below the 1 m / 2 m thresholds	Development, but not relevant demolition. Class C can grant planning permission
Gate, fence, wall or enclosure in a conservation area at or above the 1 m / 2 m thresholds	Potentially relevant demolition. Class C is unavailable if section 196D applies, so planning permission may be required

This table is a starting point only. Listed buildings, scheduled monuments, Article 4 directions, planning conditions, environmental assessment and other statutory controls can alter the route.

 

Relevant demolition requires planning permission and carries criminal risk

 

If demolition is relevant demolition, Class B and Class C expressly do not grant planning permission for it. A planning application is therefore required before the demolition takes place.

Section 196D makes it an offence to carry out, cause or permit relevant demolition without the required planning permission, or to fail to comply with a condition or limitation attached to that permission. The offence can be prosecuted in the magistrates’ court or on indictment, and the court must have particular regard to any financial benefit obtained or likely to be obtained from the offence when considering a fine.

Two further points are important. First, section 171B(2A) says there is no time limit for planning enforcement action in respect of relevant demolition. It does not acquire immunity simply because years pass. Secondly, section 196D(9) says that a later grant of planning permission does not remove criminal liability for an offence already committed. A certificate of existing lawful development is therefore not a route for turning unauthorised relevant demolition into an immune breach through the passage of time.

 

How is a full demolition application in a conservation area assessed?

 

Where full planning permission is required, the decision is not simply a technical check against the 115 cubic metre threshold. The local planning authority must apply the statutory conservation-area duty in section 72(1) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, which requires special attention to the desirability of preserving or enhancing the character or appearance of the conservation area.

The August 2026 NPPF is also important. Policy HE9 says that where the loss of a building or other element which contributes to a conservation area is proposed, the assessment should consider the relative significance of that element and its contribution to the conservation area as a whole, with the effects then considered under HE5 and HE6. Policy HE10 also addresses securing the replacement development and recording the heritage asset where loss is approved.

Our guide to heritage significance and harm explains the current HE5 and HE6 tests in more detail.

 

Question 3: is Class B actually available?

 

Even where demolition is development and is not relevant demolition, Class B has its own exclusions. Under B.1, Class B does not permit demolition where:

• the building has been rendered unsafe or otherwise uninhabitable by the action or inaction of a person with an interest in the land, and safety or health can practicably be secured by repair or temporary support
• the demolition is relevant demolition under section 196D
• the building is used, or was last used, as one of the protected drinking establishment uses specified in B.1(c)
• the building is used, or was last used, as a concert hall, venue for live music performance or theatre
• the demolition concerns a statue, memorial or monument which has been in place for at least ten years, unless one of the express exceptions in B.1(e) applies

Part 11 rights can also be affected by an Article 4 direction, a condition restricting permitted development rights, and the general limitations in the GPDO.

 

When Class B prior approval is required

 

If Class B applies, demolition is normally subject to the special 28-day prior approval procedure in B.2(b). The question for the local planning authority is whether its prior approval is required as to the method of demolition and any proposed restoration of the site.

The application must be made before demolition begins and must include a written description of the proposed development, a statement that the required site notice has been posted and the applicable fee. The site notice must remain displayed for at least 21 days within the 28-day period.

Demolition must not begin until one of the statutory triggers occurs: the authority confirms prior approval is not required; prior approval is required and then granted; or 28 days expire after the authority receives the application without it making or notifying a determination. The development must then follow the approved or submitted details and be carried out within the five-year period specified by Class B.

See our separate guide to prior approval for demolition under Class B for the application process.

 

Some Class B demolition is excluded from the prior approval procedure

 

B.3 uses the term excluded demolition. This does not mean Class B is unavailable. It means the B.2(b) prior approval procedure does not apply to demolition which falls within one of the listed categories, including:

• land which is already the subject of planning permission for redevelopment
• demolition permitted by scheduled monument consent
• demolition permitted by listed building consent
• demolition required or permitted under another enactment
• demolition required by a relevant obligation, including the section 106 routes specified in B.3

This is a different concept from the B.1 exclusions. Mixing the two up can lead to the wrong conclusion about whether planning permission exists or whether prior approval is needed.

 

Urgent demolition for safety or health

 

There are two different urgent-demolition provisions and they should not be confused.

If the demolition is otherwise permitted by Class B and is urgently necessary in the interests of safety or health, B.2(a) requires the developer to give the local planning authority a written justification as soon as reasonably practicable.

B.2(a) does not override the relevant-demolition exclusion in B.1(b). If the work is relevant demolition in a conservation area, the separate statutory defence in section 196D(4) is much stricter. It requires the demolition to have been urgently necessary, it must not have been practicable to secure safety or health by repair or temporary support or shelter, the demolition must have been the minimum measure necessary, and written notice explaining the demolition must be given to the local planning authority as soon as reasonably practicable.

Where safety is genuinely urgent, obtain professional advice and notify the authority promptly rather than assuming the ordinary Class B emergency provision solves every consent issue.

 

Partial demolition: Shimizu and Barton

 

Whether work amounts to demolition or alteration can be a question of fact and degree, and the statutory context matters. Two cases are often mentioned, but they do not say the same thing about the current conservation-area regime.

In Shimizu (UK) Ltd v Westminster City Council [1997] UKHL 3; [1997] 1 WLR 168, the House of Lords considered the older listed-building and conservation-area legislation. The judgment remains important when distinguishing demolition from alteration, but its treatment of conservation-area demolition arose under a statutory scheme which has since changed.

The more directly relevant modern authority is Barton v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Bath and North East Somerset Council [2017] EWHC 573 (Admin). That case concerned the removal of a pedestrian gate, lintel and approximately 2.5 metres of a historic wall in Bath Conservation Area. The High Court held that under the post-2013 section 196D regime, “building” could include part of a building and the Inspector had been entitled to conclude that the works amounted to demolition rather than alteration.

The practical distinction is therefore important. Class B itself does not use the GPDO’s usual definition of building as including part of a building, while section 196D can catch demolition of part of a building. Class C separately permits demolition of the whole or any part of a gate, fence, wall or other means of enclosure only where that demolition is not relevant demolition.

 

What about locally listed and other non-designated heritage assets?

 

Being locally listed or identified as a non-designated heritage asset is not, by itself, one of the exclusions in Class B. That does not mean such a building can always be demolished without further consideration.

An Article 4 direction or planning condition may remove or restrict the relevant permitted development right. If full planning permission is required for another reason, the significance of a non-designated heritage asset and the effect of its loss are material under policy HE7 of the August 2026 NPPF, while HE10 deals with the loss or removal of heritage assets more generally.

Where Class B applies and the only approval required is B.2 prior approval, the statutory prior-approval question is the method of demolition and any proposed restoration of the site. It is not an unrestricted heritage-merits application. This makes it particularly important to establish at the outset whether Class B has actually survived any Article 4 direction, condition or other restriction.

 

Environmental impact assessment and other GPDO restrictions

 

Part 11 must also be read with the general provisions of the GPDO. In particular, article 3 restricts permitted development for projects which are Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 development under the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations unless the necessary screening position or exemption is in place.

Demolition can form part of a project requiring environmental impact assessment, so the fact that the physical act of demolition appears to fit Class B is not always the end of the enquiry. Article 4 directions, conditions, listed building consent, scheduled monument consent and other statutory regimes can also be relevant.

 

Class ZA is a separate demolition and rebuild route

 

Class ZA of Part 20 is a separate permitted development route for demolition and replacement with specified new dwellinghouses. It applies only to narrowly defined buildings and is subject to its own extensive limitations and prior approval requirements.

Class ZA expressly excludes relevant demolition. It is therefore not an alternative way around section 196D for a building in a conservation area.

 

Class B demolition checklist

 

• Decide whether the proposal is demolition of the whole building, demolition of part, or an alteration
• Measure the cubic content externally where the 50 m³ or 115 m³ thresholds may matter
• Check whether the site is in a conservation area
• If it is in a conservation area, test section 75 and every relevant exemption in the 2015 Conservation Areas Direction
• Identify whether Class B or Class C is the relevant GPDO route
• Check every B.1 exclusion before relying on Class B
• Check Article 4 directions, planning conditions, EIA controls and other consent regimes
• If Class B applies and the demolition is not excluded demolition, complete the 28-day prior approval procedure before starting
• If the works are relevant demolition, obtain planning permission before demolition and address the statutory and NPPF heritage tests
• If demolition is genuinely urgent for safety or health, use the correct urgent provision for the legal route involved

 

Relevant demolition legislation and judgments

 

• GPDO 2015, Schedule 2 Part 11, including Classes B and C
• GPDO article 2, including the special interpretation of “building” for Class B
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 55, defining development and demolition
• Town and Country Planning (Demolition – Description of Buildings) Direction 2021
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 196D, relevant demolition and the criminal offence
• Town and Country Planning Act 1990, section 171B, including the absence of an enforcement time limit for relevant demolition
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 75
• Conservation Areas (Application of Section 74 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990) Direction 2015
• Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 72, the conservation-area duty
• National Planning Policy Framework, August 2026, particularly HE5, HE6, HE9 and HE10
• Shimizu (UK) Ltd v Westminster City Council [1997] UKHL 3
• Barton v Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and Bath and North East Somerset Council [2017] EWHC 573 (Admin)

 

Current Class B legislation

 

The Class B extract below reflects the current legislation checked on 20th August 2026. Because Part 11 can be amended, check the live version on legislation.gov.uk before relying on the wording for a project.

Class B – demolition of buildings

Permitted development

B. Any building operation consisting of the demolition of a building.

Development not permitted

B.1 Development is not permitted by Class B if—

(a) the building has been rendered unsafe or otherwise uninhabitable by the action or inaction of any person having an interest in the land on which the building stands and it is practicable to secure safety or health by works of repair or works for affording temporary support;

(b) the demolition is “relevant demolition” for the purposes of section 196D of the Act (demolition of an unlisted etc building in a conservation area)

(c) the building is used, or was last used, for a purpose falling within—
(i) article 3(6)(p) (drinking establishments etc.) of the Use Classes Order; or
(ii) article 3(6)(q) (drinking establishments with expanded food provision) of that Order;

(d) the building is used, or was last used, for the purpose of—
(i) a concert hall;
(ii) a venue for live music performance; or
(iii) a theatre; or

(e) the demolition relates to a statue, memorial or monument (“a commemorative structure”) in place for a period of at least 10 years on the date of any proposed demolition, other than a commemorative structure—
(i) that is a listed building;
(ii) that is a scheduled monument;
(iii) within a cemetery, on consecrated land, or within the curtilage of a place of public worship;

(iv) within the grounds of a museum or art gallery; or

(v) within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse.

Conditions

B.2 Development is permitted by Class B subject to the following conditions—

(a) where demolition is urgently necessary in the interests of safety or health and the measures immediately necessary in such interests are the demolition of the building the developer must, as soon as reasonably practicable, give the local planning authority a written justification of the demolition;

(b) where the demolition does not fall within paragraph (a) and is not excluded demolition—

(i) the developer must, before beginning the development, apply to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to the method of demolition and any proposed restoration of the site;

(ii) an application described in paragraph (b)(i) must be accompanied by a written description of the proposed development, a statement that a notice has been posted in accordance with paragraph (b)(iv) and any fee required to be paid;

(iv) subject to paragraph (b)(v), the applicant must display a site notice by site display on or near the land on which the building to be demolished is sited and must leave the notice in place for not less than 21 days in the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the application was submitted to the local planning authority;

(v) where the site notice is, without any fault or intention of the applicant, removed, obscured or defaced before the period of 21 days referred to in paragraph (b)(iv) has elapsed, the applicant is treated as having complied with the requirements of that paragraph if the applicant has taken reasonable steps for protection of the notice and, if need be, its replacement;

(vii) the development must not begin before the occurrence of one of the following—
(aa) the receipt by the applicant from the local planning authority of a written notice of their determination that such prior approval is not required;
(bb) where the local planning authority give the applicant notice within 28 days following the date of receiving the application of their determination that such prior approval is required, the giving of such approval; or
(cc) the expiry of 28 days following the date on which the application was received by the local planning authority without the local planning authority making any determination as to whether such approval is required or notifying the applicant of their determination;

(viii) the development must, except to the extent that the local planning authority otherwise agree in writing, be carried out—
(aa) where prior approval is required, in accordance with the details approved;
(bb) where prior approval is not required, in accordance with the details submitted with the application;

(ix) the development must be carried out—
(aa) where approval has been given by the local planning authority, within a period of 5 years from the date on which approval was given;
(bb) in any other case, within a period of 5 years from the date on which the local planning authority were given the information referred to in paragraph (b)(ii).

Interpretation of Class B

B.3 For the purposes of Class B—

“cemetery” has the meaning given by section 214(8) of the Local Government Act 1972113;

“dwellinghouse” does not include educational accommodation;

“excluded demolition” means demolition—
(a) on land which is the subject of a planning permission, for the redevelopment of the land, granted on an application or deemed to be granted under Part 3 of the Act (control over development),
(b) permitted to be carried out by a consent under Part 1 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 (scheduled monument consent),
(c) permitted to be carried out by a consent under Part 1 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 (listed building consent),
(d) required or permitted to be carried out by or under any other enactment, or
(e) required to be carried out by virtue of a relevant obligation;

“relevant obligation” means—
(a) an obligation arising under an agreement made under section 106 of the Act, as originally enacted (agreements regulating development or use of land);
(b) a planning obligation entered into under section 106 of the Act, as substituted by section 12 of the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 (planning obligations), or under section 299A of the Act (Crown planning obligations);
(c) an obligation arising under, or under an agreement made under, any provision corresponding to section 106 of the Act, as originally enacted or as substituted by the Planning and Compensation Act 1991, or to section 299A of the Act;

“site notice” means a notice containing—
(a) the name of the applicant,
(b) a description, including the address, of the building or buildings which it is proposed to be demolished,
(c) a statement that the applicant has applied to the local planning authority for a determination as to whether the prior approval of the authority will be required as to the method of demolition and any proposed restoration of the site,
(d) the date on which the applicant proposes to carry out the demolition, and
(e) the name and address of the local planning authority,
and which is signed and dated by or on behalf of the applicant;

 

Conservation, Heritage & Protected Sites

 

Class B Demolition Page Updated: 20th August 2026