ABSTRACT
The critical test of an A.2 use is whether the service is provided principally for members of the general public. In Kalra v Secretary of State (1994) 2 PLR 99; (1995) EGCS 163, the Court of Appeal drew a distinction between different types of solicitors. In some cases, the office is open to members of the general public and in others the nature of the work undertaken was primarily by correspondence and telephone. This latter category would more appropriately fall into Class B.1. This does leave the problem of a solicitor who, over a period of time, changes the emphasis on the type of work carried out by the firm. One who genuinely falls within Class A.2 by providing a service to members of the general public, may (inadvertently) become B.1 and, therefore, require planning permission to continue to operate from the same site; likewise there is no provision for a B.1 user to change the emphasis of the business to meet the requirements of the general public without first gaining planning permission.
