A practical guide for restaurants, cafés and food businesses
If you're looking for a restaurant or café in Edinburgh, you'll probably come across properties advertised as having Class 3 use.
We get asked about Class 3 regularly, particularly by people opening their first café or restaurant.
The basic definition is fairly straightforward. Class 3 covers the sale of food or drink for consumption on the premises.
The more important question is whether the property actually works for the business you're planning.
What does Class 3 cover?
Class 3 generally covers businesses such as:
- Restaurants
- Cafés
- Coffee shops
- Snack bars
- Other premises where food or drink is mainly consumed on site
If you're looking to open a restaurant or café, an existing Class 3 property is obviously a good place to start.
But don't assume Class 3 means you can do anything food related from the premises.
What about a takeaway?
This is probably one of the most common areas of confusion.
A restaurant or café and a hot-food takeaway aren't the same thing in planning terms.
A restaurant can normally offer some takeaway food where that's secondary to the main restaurant or café business.
But if the main business is going to be a hot-food takeaway, that's different.
We've seen plenty of properties that look ideal for a takeaway but don't have the planning position to match.
If takeaway is going to be an important part of the business, check it at the beginning rather than after you've agreed terms.
Can you turn a shop into a café or restaurant?
Sometimes.
Changes introduced in Scotland in 2023 mean certain Class 1A properties can change to Class 3 without a planning application for the change of use.
There are restrictions, though.
One of the important ones is residential property. The permitted change doesn't apply where part of a dwelling is directly above the premises or where a dwelling is within 1 metre, subject to the detailed rules.
That's particularly relevant in Edinburgh.
Think about places like Stockbridge, Morningside, Leith, Bruntsfield or Corstorphine. There are plenty of good ground-floor commercial units with flats immediately above them.
A former shop might look perfect for a café.
That doesn't automatically mean you can turn it into one without going through planning.
It's worth establishing that before spending too much time negotiating the property.
Class 3 is only part of the picture
This is probably the most important thing we'd tell someone looking for restaurant or café premises.
Don't choose a property purely because it has Class 3 use.
The property still has to work.
If you're doing proper cooking, we'd want to know what extraction is already there and, if there isn't any, where it's going to go.
Can you get a flue out of the building?
What's above you?
What's next door?
Is the building listed?
Are there planning conditions affecting the premises?
Then there's the practical side.
Is there enough kitchen space? Where are deliveries coming in? Where does the waste go? Is there enough storage? Does the customer area actually work once you've put in the number of covers you're expecting?
We've seen properties that look great on a viewing but become much less attractive once you start working through those questions.
If you're selling alcohol, check that separately
Having Class 3 use doesn't give you an alcohol licence.
If alcohol is going to be part of the business, licensing needs to be looked at separately.
The same applies to things like outside seating, signage and alterations to the building.
If any of those are important to making the business work, we'd rather know that at the start.
Existing Class 3 can still be a big advantage
For a restaurant or café operator, taking premises that already have an established Class 3 use can make things considerably easier.
If there's already a commercial kitchen, suitable extraction and a layout that works, even better.
But we'd still check the history of the property and any conditions attached to previous planning permissions.
An old advert saying “Class 3” isn't something we'd rely on by itself.
Tell us what you're actually planning
When someone contacts us and says:
“I'm looking for a Class 3 unit in Edinburgh.”
That's a useful start, but the next question is always going to be what they're planning to do with it.
A small coffee shop is very different from a 60-cover restaurant with a full kitchen.
A bakery café is different again.
And a business doing a large amount of takeaway trade may have completely different requirements.
The more we understand about the business, the easier it is for us to say:
This one is worth looking at. This one probably isn't.
That's much more useful than sending somebody every Class 3 property on the market.
Looking for a restaurant or café in Edinburgh?
IME has been dealing with commercial property in Edinburgh since 1994.
We work with landlords and occupiers across the city and regularly deal with shops, restaurants, cafés and other commercial premises.
If you're looking for somewhere for a food or drink business, tell us what you're planning and we'll help you look at the properties that could genuinely work.
And if you're a landlord with restaurant or café premises becoming available, speak to us about bringing them to the market.
Looking for restaurant or café premises in Edinburgh? Speak to the IME team.
Sources & further information
City of Edinburgh Council
Quick Guide to Use Classes and Permitted Changes of Use
https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/file/34675/quick-guide-to-changes-of-use
Scottish Government
Planning and Development Management
https://www.gov.scot/policies/planning-architecture/development-management/
UK Legislation
The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development and Use Classes) (Scotland) Miscellaneous Amendment Order 2023
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2023/35/contents
Important: This is a general guide rather than planning or legal advice. Every property is different and the position can depend on its existing lawful use, planning history, previous conditions and exactly what you're proposing to do. Licensing and other consents may also be required, so the position should be checked before committing to a lease or purchase.