Opening a new pharmacy – have you got planning consent?

It is all too easy to become so focussed upon obtaining a pharmacy contract that the issue of local council planning consent for the premises is forgotten until too late.

For example, even the premises for an an internet pharmacy need to have relevant planning consent. You almost certainly cannot run an internet pharmacy from a converted outbuilding or garage at your home without planning consent, as effectively you may be seeking to introduce a business premises with potentially disruptive deliveries, into a previously residential area.

Another example could be introducing a pharmacy into a GP surgery, either one with pre-existing doctor dispensing or without. Both doctor dispensing and GP services are normally given D1 planning consent, which consent essentially covers use of premises primarily as a medical centre. As doctor dispensing is nearly always subsidiary in turnover to core medical services, AND  dispensing doctors may not sell medicines by retail, doctor dispensing IS normally allowed within D1 consent.

However, retail pharmacy normally requires A1 consent, the same as any other retail business, so it cannot be assumed that a retail pharmacy can be introduced into a medical centre (with only D1 consent), without consulting the council as to whether A1 consent is required. IF the medical centre is quite new, and planning consent was granted with Pharmacy specifically mentioned in the application as an intended service, and perhaps shown on the drawings, then further planning consent may not actually  be required.

One should also not overlook the possibility that medical centre planning consents may have restrictive covenants for example concerning opening hours, which might clash with intended pharmacy opening hours, particularly in the case of a 100 hour pharmacy.

The above issues should, at the least, be tackled in parallel with a contract application, if not actually resolved before even making a contract application.