In the latest season of Clarkson’s Farm, the petrolhead turned farmer has continued his diversification efforts in and around Diddly Squat Farm by opening his own pub.
But whilst the show demonstrated it’s doable, even with Jeremy’s gung-ho attitude, it’s no easy task with a range of legal angles to consider. Thrings’ Planning and Environment Associate Rebecca Stanton takes a look at the planning obstacles landowners might face if they are looking to take on and spruce up a pub.
Usage class
As mentioned in the show, Jeremy Clarkson's pub, The Farmer's Dog, is a Class E establishment, meaning it can be used as a commercial, business, or service-based property. This is what allows Clarkson to offer food and drink, retain and certain leisure activities.
However, not all pubs have such a wide variety of uses, and the lines in the sand for the different classes are often blurred.
Pubs in the ‘local boozer’ sense, and cocktail bars, are sui generis, as is a pub with expanded food provision. Meanwhile, restaurants alone are Use Class E (b) (sale of food and drink mostly for consumption on the premises).
There are permitted development (PD) rights known as Class AA that allow pubs and drinking establishments to open a restaurant within the premises. That said, if a gastropub moves so far towards opening as a restaurant, and so are no longer drinking establishments with food provision it could fall into Class E(b) (restaurant) despite looking like a pub. Movement within Class E, however, doesn’t require permission.
If a business experiences significant shifts in customer patterns/demands then it is important to take early legal advice to ensure that the business is in the correct planning use class.
Find an existing pub or convert an old agricultural building?
Whilst Clarkson refurbished and reopened an existing pub, some landowners might be able to consider other existing buildings on their estate that might currently have a different use.
Rules introduced by the government in May 2024 under the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) Order 2024 (TCP) have made it easier to convert disused agricultural buildings into commercial spaces.
Looking back a few series, the abandoned agricultural barn Clarkson turned into a restaurant would have fallen within this class – otherwise known as Class R.
Class R now allows for agricultural buildings to be converted, without the need for planning permission, into a flexible use falling within:
- Class B2 (general industrial) of Schedule 1 of the TCP;
- Class B8 (storage or distribution) of Schedule1 of the TCP;
- Class C1 (hotels) of Schedule 1 of the TCP;
- Class E (commercial, business or service) of Schedule 2 of the TCP;
- Class F.2(c) (outdoor sport or recreation) of Schedule 2 of the TCP; or
- For the provision of agricultural training.
Amendments also provide for a larger floor space under permitted development rights within an ‘Agricultural Unit’, doubling from 500m2 to 1,000m2. Any building brought into agricultural use since July 2012 will be excluded unless the use has been solely for agricultural purposes for a minimum period of 10 years since.
When it becomes Class E, which is what would be required for a site similar to Clarkson’s, it will fall within the ‘Sui Generis’ class use, meaning it is within a class of its own. Express planning permission is likely to be needed for any further changes of use from Sui Generis.
Heritage designations
Many rural pubs will have been at the heart of their communities for decades (if not centuries in some cases) and so there may be heritage and conservation matters to consider if you are considering developing or refurbishing a particularly old building.
Conservation areas are designated zones that receive special protection due to their historical or architectural significance (such as the green belt).
If a pub is a listed building, any development requires consent as does any work that could affect its character as a building of special architectural or historic interest.
Licensing
The premises licence regime runs separately to that of planning and listed building control, and publicans must ensure they have a designated premises supervisor with a valid personal licence to sell alcohol. They should also consider whether the pubs’ premises licence is up to date, valid, and wide enough to cover the licensable activities they propose to carry out.
Beer gardens
An important feature for many modern pubs, the beer garden gives patrons a place to enjoy being outside on warm summer days, but even these can be impacted by planning.
Depending on the scale and siting of structures such as marquees and tents/canopies, planning permission may be required to install them. The same may apply to outdoor bars and even children’s play equipment depending on their size and permanence if they are not a moveable structure.
If the pub has neighbours, prospective owners might want to consider how noise generated by beer gardens could influence how local residents might choose to interact with the application and the view the LPA might take when coming to a decision.
Should the use of a beer garden intensifies and becomes closer to an events venue, then commonly, an events space or use for assembly and leisure (previously typified as Class D2) is now viewed as Class E.
Caselaw (Williams v Minister of Housing and Local Government 1967) has, however, confirmed that a use which is ancillary to the main use of land doesn’t constitute a material change of use – so if a garden area were to get increasingly busy, it would depend on the particular circumstances as to whether it requires a change in use.
Thrings’ Planning and Environment lawyers have extensive experience in navigating complex local and national planning policy legislation and has successfully supported commercial and residential clients to optimise the use of their land to generate innovative new long-term revenue streams through a range of diversification initiatives To find out more and for advice on your development proposals, please get in touch.
Clarkson’s Conundrums are legal comments highlighting the issues farmers faced raised in Clarkson’s Farm. Thrings has no association with Jeremy Clarkson or Clarkson’s Farm and the comments made in this article are not endorsed by the show.
