Starting a Self Storage Business in Wales: Planning, Rates and Tax (2026)

As at 17 October 2026, starting a self storage business in Wales differs from England at five points: use classes, a drainage approval, planning fees, rates multipliers and the buying tax. A new 1,000 m² building’s planning fee is £8,190 in Wales (from 1 December 2025) and £9,226 in England (from 1 April 2026), a change of use £667 against £610 (our calculation), and below £51,000 rateable value the 2026-27 multiplier is 50.2p in Wales (our conversion) against 43.2p.

It is general information, not legal advice and not tax advice. Before relying on any reading in it, ask a Welsh solicitor or tax adviser about the law, and the planning authority, the council or the Valuation Office about the points only they decide. Where a source is silent, we say so and give the date: on 17 October 2026 none we read said which use class a self-storage building takes.

Each figure carries its date too, because the Welsh Government sets fees, multipliers and tax bands on its own timetable.

Is starting a self storage business in Wales different from England?

Yes: five things differ. The Use Classes Order keeps Class B1 for a building in Wales and omits it for England, a drainage approval has applied in Wales since 7 January 2019, planning fees come from a Welsh Fee Document, business rates have their own multipliers, and land purchases pay Land Transaction Tax. The table below sets them side by side.

England’s figures come from pages we read on 17 October 2026, and fees and taxes at a chosen size are our calculations. Scotland, Northern Ireland and England beyond the contrast are outside this guide; the closing section links the guides that cover them.

Which planning route and policy apply to storage in Wales?

Class B8 of the Use Classes Order 1987, “Storage or distribution”, is the class that names storage, and Planning Policy Wales edition 12 treats B1, B2 and B8 as traditional employment land, but as at 17 October 2026 the sources we read do not settle which class a self storage building takes.

The Order. Class B8 is use “for storage or as a distribution centre”, in Wales and in England. The Welsh text keeps Class B1 (business): use “as an office other than a use within class A2 (financial and professional services)”, for research and development, or “for any industrial process” that can be carried out in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area.

England. For a building in England the Order applies Part B of Schedule 1 as if “Class B1 (Business) were omitted”.

On 17 October 2026 we found no source, in the Use Classes Order or in the Welsh Government documents we read, that says which use class a self-storage building takes. The Order named no self storage use and no container use on 17 October 2026.

What the manuals say. The Valuation Office’s Rating Manual, a page that did not mention Wales on 17 October 2026, says “Planning authorities take differing views on whether the category falls within Use Class B8 or Sui Generis” (a use outside every class).

It adds that this “appears to depend on the likelihood of regular access to the hereditament by members of the public” (a hereditament is one entry on the rating list), and that “the more regular the public access, the more likely it is to be treated as sui generis”.

The Welsh Government’s Development Management Manual says identifying which class a use falls within is “a matter of fact and degree in each case”.

National policy. Planning Policy Wales edition 12, headed February 2024, says in 5.4.2 that its economic development section “focuses primarily on traditional employment land uses (B1, B2 and B8)”, and in 5.4.3 that planning authorities “should support the provision of sufficient land to meet the needs of the employment market”.

On 17 October 2026 Planning Policy Wales did not name self storage; its only paragraph naming “distribution and operating centres”, 5.3.21, is road-freight policy.

Advice notes and flood risk. Technical Advice Note 23 (28 February 2014) never used the words storage, warehouse or distribution on 17 October 2026. The current TAN 15 took effect on 31 March 2025. On 17 October 2026 we found no TAN 15 entry that names storage or warehouses; paragraph 9.5 leaves unlisted types to professional judgement.

Biodiversity. On 17 October 2026 we found no percentage and no metric in Planning Policy Wales edition 12; its words are “a net benefit for biodiversity”. In England, gov.uk (last updated 14 July 2026) says biodiversity net gain is mandatory under Schedule 7A of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 at 10%, and that from 6 August 2026 it does not apply to developments of 0.2 hectares or below.

Other policy points. Planning Policy Wales 6.2.12 says “A green infrastructure statement should be submitted with all planning applications”. Paragraph 3.29 of the policy says language impact assessments “may be carried out” for some large developments, and the Development Management Manual says developers “may be asked to provide contributions for infrastructure”.

The Planning (Wales) Act 2026. The Act (2026 asc 6) received Royal Assent on 27 April 2026. Chapter 1 of Part 1, section 42 and sections 407 to 410 came into force on 28 April 2026, and section 409 says “The other provisions of this Act come into force on a day appointed by the Welsh Ministers in an order made by Welsh statutory instrument”.

On 17 October 2026 section 3, the meaning of development, was not in force, on a page current to 16 October 2026. On 17 October 2026 we found no commencement order for the rest (searched: legislation.gov.uk title searches for “commencement” in 2026 Welsh instruments and for “planning wales act”).

The Welsh Government calls the Act consolidation and says “its legal effect will remain unchanged”, and that until the provisions are commenced “the existing legislative framework will continue to apply”. It expects the new framework in October 2027, restating the Use Classes Order and the procedure order as regulations then, and the 1995 permitted development order only in a later phase. That is pending, not law.

Can an office, industrial or farm building change to storage under permitted development?

Class B of Part 3 of the Welsh General Permitted Development Order 1995 provides for a change from Class B1 (which includes offices) or Class B2 (general industrial) to Class B8, within a 500 m² limit. As at 17 October 2026 the sources we read do not settle whether a self-storage building is in Class B8. For a farm building we found no equivalent of England’s Class R on 17 October 2026.

Class B. The 1995 Order remains the permitted development order for Wales only: England’s 2015 Order revoked it for England on 15 April 2015. Part 3 Class B provides for a change of use “to a use for any purpose falling within Class B8 (storage and distribution)” from “any use falling within Class B1 (business) or B2 (general industrial)”.

Development is not permitted by Class B if the change “relates to more than 500 square metres of floor space in the building”. The words limit the floor space the change relates to, not the size of the building, and on 17 October 2026 the Order did not define “relates to”. Because Class B1 includes offices, the Order’s words reach a building in office use as well as one in industrial use (our reading).

Within Class B8. Article 3(1) of the Use Classes Order provides that, in Wales, using a building or land for another purpose of the same class is not taken to involve development of the land.

The rest of Part 3. Reading all of Part 3 on 17 October 2026, we found Class B the only class that mentions B8. On 17 October 2026 the Welsh page also showed headings for Classes AA, CA, IA, K, L, M, MA and MB, each marked “F1” and followed by a row of full stops instead of words, so on our reading they give no right in Wales.

Warehouse extensions. Part 8 Class A provides for “The erection, extension or alteration of an industrial building or a warehouse”, within limits. A new building may have no more than 100 m² of gross floor space; an extension may add no more than 25% or 1,000 m² to the original building, whichever is the lesser; and no part may be within 5 m of a boundary.

The Order also gives lower figures, 10% or 500 m², on “article 1(5) land” and within a World Heritage Site, sets height limits, and does not permit development that would reduce parking or turning space or be within the curtilage of a listed building.

Condition A.2 provides that a warehouse as extended may be used only “for storage or distribution for the purposes of the undertaking or the provision of employee facilities ancillary to the undertaking”. Part 8 defines a warehouse for Wales as “a building used for any purpose within Class B8 (storage or distribution)”, so Class A reaches a self-storage building only if the planning authority treats it as in Class B8 use (our reading).

On 17 October 2026 we found no Welsh Government document that says whether storage an operator holds for its customers is “for the purposes of the undertaking”, the words in Part 8 Class A (searched: eight Welsh Government documents and pages for “purposes of the undertaking”).

Farm buildings. On 17 October 2026 we found no class in the Welsh 1995 Order that changes an agricultural building to storage. Part 6 Class A provides for works “reasonably necessary for the purposes of agriculture within that unit”, which on our reading is about farming, not storage. Our guide to Class R permitted development covers England’s right for farm buildings, and our guide to farm diversification into storage covers the farm route in England.

Recent and pending change. As at 17 October 2026, storage, warehouses and Class B8 were not among the subjects of the Welsh Government’s 2025 consultation on permitted development (8 April to 1 July 2025).

The flow below follows the Order’s words from four starting points, and every end point sends the reader to the planning authority.

What does a Welsh planning application for storage cost, and how long does it take?

In Wales a new 1,000 m² non-residential building costs £8,190 to apply for from 1 December 2025 against £9,226 in England from 1 April 2026, and a change of use £667 against £610 (our calculation), and a valid application has eight weeks, or sixteen with an environmental impact assessment, to be decided.

The scale. The Welsh scale is in the 2015 Fees Regulations (S.I. 2015/1522), as amended in 2025 by S.I. 2025/1095, which replaced the money amounts with “the amount published by the Welsh Ministers” in a Fee Document. The current Fee Document takes effect in Wales on 1 December 2025.

• New building, Wales, from 1 December 2025: £383 up to 40 m² of gross floor space or where none is created, £667 up to 75 m², then £585 for each 75 m² (or part), to a maximum of £406,761.
• New building, England, from 1 April 2026: £309 up to 40 m² or where none is created, £610 for each 75 m² (or part) to under 1,000 m², £659 for each 75 m² to 3,750 m², then £32,578 plus £196 for each 75 m² above, to a maximum of £427,537.
• Change of use of a building or land: a flat £667 in Wales from 1 December 2025 (category 12) and £610 in England from 1 April 2026, whatever the size.

Counting each 75 m² or part as a whole unit, a 1,000 m² new building pays £8,190 in Wales (from 1 December 2025) and £9,226 in England (from 1 April 2026), and a 3,000 m² one £23,400 and £26,360 (our calculation). Wales is cheaper from 76 m² to 4,350 m² and dearer below and above; above 3,750 m² England’s step falls to £196 while Wales’s stays at £585.

Other rows. In the Fee Document of 1 December 2025, outline fees for a non-residential building depend on site area, not floor space: £667 for each 0.1 hectare up to 2.5 hectares. The statutory pre-application service costs £332 up to 999 m² of gross floor space, £797 from 1,000 to 1,999 m² and £1,328 above that.

On 17 October 2026 we found no row in the Fee Document named for the alteration or extension of a non-residential building. The nearest rows are category 2(b), first band, where no floor space is created (£383), and category 9(b), operations in no other category (£296 for each 0.1 hectare of site area, to a maximum of £406,761). Our reading: the authority decides which row applies, so we print no single fee for an alteration.

Dates and older figures. The Welsh Government’s fee policy page says a new Fee Document takes effect on 1 April each year, starting on 1 April 2027, and that there will be no fee increase in 2026; the 2027 document was not on the pages we read on 17 October 2026. The Development Management Manual’s fee annex (May 2025) says “a fee of £460” for a change of use; the Fee Document is the later source.

How long a decision takes. Article 22 of the Development Management Procedure Order 2012 gives the authority “the period of eight weeks beginning with the date on which the application was received”, or an extended period agreed in writing. Regulation 61 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations 2017 makes it sixteen weeks for an environmental impact assessment application.

Major development. The 2012 Order counts as major development a building or buildings where the floor space to be created is 1,000 m² or more, and development on a site of 1 hectare or more. Under articles 2B and 2C, pre-application consultation is a legal requirement for major development, including site display for not less than 28 days and written notice to adjoining owners and occupiers.

What the statistics show. The Welsh Government’s quarterly survey for January to March 2026, published on 6 July 2026, was the newest on its index on 17 October 2026. Its nearest line to storage is labelled “Industry/Storage/Distribution (B1(b&c),B2, B8)”, which is not self storage. The sums cover the 24 authorities that supplied data (Denbighshire supplied none). For April 2025 to March 2026, in that line (our calculation from the workbook):

• Major development, “Industry/Storage/Distribution (B1(b&c),B2, B8)”: 28 decided, of which 7 (25.0%) within 8 weeks (16 for environmental impact assessment applications) and 22 (78.6%) within the statutory or agreed time.
• Minor and householder development, “Industry/Storage/Distribution (B1(b&c),B2, B8)”: 220 decided, of which 86 (39.1%) within 8 weeks and 204 (92.7%) within the statutory or agreed time.
• All application types, 24 authorities: 18,996 decided, of which 9,849 (51.8%) within 8 weeks and 17,404 (91.6%) within the statutory or agreed time.

The survey counts a decision inside an agreed extension as on time, and the major line holds only 28 decisions. Our guide to planning decisions and timescales for storage buildings covers the survey’s outcome counts and England’s clock.

Appeals. Planning and Environment Decisions Wales decides appeals. On 17 October 2026 the Welsh Government’s page said there is no fee, the deadline is six months from the date on the decision notice, and there is no deadline if the council did not decide within eight weeks. Article 26(2) of the procedure order sets twelve weeks, not six months, for “a householder appeal or a minor commercial appeal”.

A minor commercial application is defined by shop, financial and professional services and food and drink uses, and on 17 October 2026 Schedule 1A did not mention storage, warehouses, distribution or Class B8. Our guide to planning appeals covers the process in England.

Which approvals besides planning might a Welsh storage site meet?

Wales has a sustainable drainage approval for construction work, in force since 7 January 2019, with the council as approving body and a threshold of 100 m² of land covered; building control and listed building consent are separate regimes.

The approval. Paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 provides that “Construction work which has drainage implications may not be commenced” until the approving body has approved a drainage system. Work has drainage implications “if the building or structure will affect the ability of land to absorb rainwater”. The council is the approving body, and the Welsh Government’s guidance says it approves the design before any construction work begins, enabling works included.

The threshold. The 100 m² threshold is in an Order, S.I. 2018/1074, not in the Act. Article 6 says the requirement does not apply where “the area of land covered by the construction work is less than 100 square metres”. Article 4 excepts work that does not require planning permission, but the exception “does not apply where the construction work involves the construction of a building or other structure covering an area of land of 100 square metres or more”.

Article 2(3) excludes permitted development from “planning permission” for this purpose. The Welsh Government’s guidance says the approval “can be required in some circumstances where a planning application is not”. Whether the approval applies to a permitted development extension covering 100 m² or more of land is a question for the council as approving body.

Applying and paying. The approval may be a free-standing application or combined with the planning application. S.I. 2018/1075 (in force 7 January 2019) sets £350 for each application plus an area charge of £70 for each 0.1 hectare (or part) of the construction area for the first 0.5 hectare, falling to £10 above 5.0 hectares, capped at £7,500. Our calculation gives £420 at 0.1 hectare and £2,250 at 10 hectares, and the cap is reached only at 66 hectares.

England. England’s national standards for sustainable drainage are non-statutory. On 17 October 2026 the legislation.gov.uk page for Schedule 3 showed no commencement entry for England. The last government statements we captured on commencing Schedule 3 are dated 10 January 2023 and 28 January 2025, and we make no prediction.

Building control and listed buildings. The Welsh Government’s page says “Building work in Wales is overseen by either local authorities or registered building control approvers”. Technical Advice Note 24 (March 2026) calls works to a listed building that affect its special character, without listed building consent, “a criminal offence”, and on 17 October 2026 it did not mention storage.

Our guide to converting a building covers the fire safety order for England and Wales and notes that Wales publishes its own Approved Document B, which it did not read; we did not read the fire duty or Welsh Approved Document B for this guide.

How do Welsh business rates work for 2026-27?

The Valuation Office, part of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) since 1 April 2026, sets each property’s rateable value, and the council bills and collects. Wales has three multipliers for 2026-27, and on our reading a self-storage building falls under the standard 50.2p up to £100,000 of rateable value, or the higher 51.5p above it.

The three multipliers. From 1 April 2026 Business Wales gives retail 0.350 for “small to medium sized retail shops with a rateable value below £51,000”, standard 0.502 for “most other properties” and higher 0.515 for “properties with a rateable value above £100,000”; 0.502 is 50.2 pence in the pound (our conversion). The retail multiplier applies only to five Valuation Office descriptions, such as shop and premises.

Where storage sits. The Valuation Office’s list description for a self-storage building is “storage depot and premises or self storage facility and premises”, special category code 721, which is not one of the five retail descriptions. The word “storage” occurred in none of the Welsh multiplier regulations or guidance we read on 17 October 2026, and on that date gov.uk’s multipliers page did not name storage among the lower-multiplier businesses either.

England. For a property outside retail, hospitality and leisure, gov.uk gives England, for 2026-27, 43.2p below £51,000 of rateable value, 48p from £51,000 to £499,999 and 50.8p from £500,000, and England has five multipliers in all. For 2026-27 Wales is higher by 7.0p below £51,000, 2.2p from £51,000 to £100,000, 3.5p from £100,001 to £499,999 and 0.7p from £500,000 (our calculation).

At an illustrative rateable value of £30,000 the 2026-27 bill before relief is £15,060 in Wales and £12,960 in England (our calculation).

The 2026 revaluation. It was one revaluation for England and Wales, based on what each property could be let for on 1 April 2024, with the new list from 1 April 2026. HMRC says total rateable value for Wales rose 15.5% against 19.6% for England, and that “England showed a larger percentage increase than Wales across all sectors”.

Total rateable value of the Welsh “Self Storage Facility” entries rose 11.4% (our calculation from the workbook), and the standard multiplier fell for 2026-27. Our guide to the business rates list counts the entries.

Telling the council. From 1 April 2026, S.I. 2026/15 requires a ratepayer of a Welsh property to tell the local authority in writing, within 60 days, when the ratepayer changes, when a person becomes the occupier of a previously empty property or when the occupier leaves and the property is empty. The billing authority may impose a £500 penalty for failing to do so. Business Wales says “a brief email confirming the relevant details would be sufficient”.

A separate duty to give the Valuation Office information about property changes “would not occur before 2029”, which the Business Wales update of September 2026 says was previously confirmed; the update adds that the Valuation Office has confirmed “the timing is under review”.

Adjoining entries. Section 64 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 treats adjoining hereditaments with one occupier as one, but only “In relation to England”, and its text has no Welsh equivalent. On 17 October 2026 none of the rating sources we read said whether this matters to an operator with several adjoining small entries.

Pending, not law. The 2027-28 Welsh multipliers were not announced on 17 October 2026. The Welsh Government’s Draft Budget is due on 17 November 2026 and the UK Autumn Budget on 28 October 2026. Regulations to widen the lower multiplier to some hospitality, accommodation and leisure properties from 1 April 2027 were still to come, to be funded by “a marginal increase to the higher multiplier”, and storage is not in that list.

On timing, Business Wales’s September 2026 update says the values of the multipliers “will be confirmed as part of our budget preparations and included in our next update”, planned provisionally for January 2027.

What reliefs might a new storage site meet?

Business Wales lists ten headings under “Types of business rates relief”, and none of them, on the page read on 17 October 2026, is named for storage or for new construction.

Transitional relief. Business Wales says ratepayers “benefit from transitional relief of 67% of their increased liability in 2026-27 and 34% in 2027-28”, and that all ratepayers pay their full bill in 2028-29.

Asked whether a ratepayer who becomes liable for a property it did not previously occupy gets the relief, the page answers “No” and gives the test: liability “in respect of the property on 31 March 2026, as well as from 1 April 2026”. The Regulations’ explanatory note says the rules stop applying where “occupation or the liable ratepayer of the hereditament changes on 1 April 2026 or any later date”.

Small business rates relief. On 17 October 2026 Business Wales gave 100% relief for 2026-27 up to a rateable value of £6,000, tapering from 100% to zero between £6,001 and £12,000, on up to two properties per business in each local authority, for an occupied property. At the 2026-27 standard multiplier of 50.2p the bill after relief would be £0 at £6,000, £941.25 at £7,500, £2,259 at £9,000 and £6,024 at £12,000 (our calculation).

On 17 October 2026 we found no source that applies the relief to a container yard (searched: the Business Wales relief page and S.I. 2017/1229, for “container” and “yard”), and the Order’s conditions include that the property is “wholly occupied”.

Empty property relief. Business Wales says the 2008 Regulations give relief “in the first three months, or six months if classified as industrial, that a non-domestic property is empty”, if the property was occupied for more than 26 weeks beforehand; after that it pays 100% of the occupied rates.

A qualifying industrial hereditament is one, other than a retail hereditament, whose buildings are all constructed or adapted for use in a trade or business and for one or more listed purposes, storage among them. A retail hereditament is one where any building or part is built or adapted for the retail provision of goods, or of services other than storage for distribution services, provided on or from the property.

Our search on 17 October 2026 of the 2008 Regulations, the instruments amending them, Business Wales pages and six council pages, for “self storage”, “storage depot” and “storage facility”, found no source that says whether a self-storage building is a qualifying industrial hereditament (six months) or falls outside it (three months).

The two official statements of the occupation test did not use identical words at 26 weeks on 17 October 2026: the explanatory note to S.I. 2021/118 says “26 weeks or less”, and the Welsh Government’s guidance says the property “must have been occupied for a period of more than 26 weeks”.

Other reliefs. Improvement relief delays the effect of a rateable value increase for 12 months, for works completed on or after 1 April 2024, and its page says “It is not the intention to subsidise general commercial property development, such as new construction or refurbishment”. The 2026-27 hospitality relief is for “occupied food and drink hospitality properties”, and on 17 October 2026 its guidance did not name storage.

On 17 October 2026 the Business Wales page lists agricultural land and buildings, including fish farms, as exempt and does not say what that means for a farm building that becomes a storage business.

Who pays rates on a container unit?

On 17 October 2026 we found no Welsh primary source that says who is billed for a single container unit.

What the sources do say. Section 43 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 names the ratepayer as the person “in occupation of all or part of the hereditament” on the day. Section 45 makes the owner of a wholly empty hereditament liable if it falls in a class the Welsh Ministers prescribe.

Three Welsh councils say “Where a property is occupied, the business rates are usually payable by the person, partnership or company occupying it”. None of six council business rates pages we read on 17 October 2026 (Pembrokeshire, Swansea with two pages, Conwy, Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf) mentioned a container, a self-storage unit, a pod, a lock-up or storage at all.

The Valuation Office’s manual. The Rating Manual says the provider is “in paramount control of the whole self-storage facility”, so “the whole of the building occupied by the provider should be treated as one hereditament”: one entry for the facility, not one per unit. Its 2026 practice note puts the typical entry at about 3,000 to 3,500 m² and 400 to 450 units.

On 17 October 2026 the page did not say who is billed. It says the scheme does not cover sites that sell individual units to “unit owners or investors”, and on 17 October 2026 it did not say how such units are entered.

Container values. The Rating Manual’s self-storage scheme says to apply £95 for a single 20ft container and £140 for a 40ft container for the 2026 list, without naming a unit, and on 17 October 2026 the page never mentioned Wales.

The Manual’s page on land used for storage gives annual amounts for the 2026 list of £75 and £110 for Wales, against £95 and £140 for England, and says containers there are “valued by reference to the amortised cost of purchasing and installing the containers”.

Our arithmetic lands within £1.50 of the printed Welsh figures: the estimated replacement costs of £2,166 (20ft) and £3,215 (40ft), turned into yearly amounts at the Welsh statutory decapitalisation rate of 3.4%, give £73.64 and £109.31 (England’s rate is 4.4%).

Welsh entries. HM Revenue and Customs’ revaluation workbook shows about 180 Welsh “Self Storage Facility” entries on the 2026 list, and about 150 of them (about 83%) at £0 to £6,000 (our calculation from the workbook’s counts, rounded to the nearest 10). The manual’s typical building is 3,000 to 3,500 m².

On 17 October 2026 nothing we read said whether those small entries are container yards, single units assessed separately or something else, which is a question for the Valuation Office.

What is Land Transaction Tax on buying a storage site?

For a non-residential purchase with an effective date on or after 22 December 2020, Land Transaction Tax is 0% up to £225,000, 1% to £250,000, 5% to £1,000,000 and 6% above, each rate on its slice of the price.

The bands. The Welsh Revenue Authority’s page, last updated on 10 December 2024, says each rate applies “to the portion of the price you pay in each band”. The Authority collects the tax, which replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales from 1 April 2018, and a return goes in within 30 days of the day after completion.

The Welsh Revenue Authority’s guide of 29 September 2021 says a purchase with residential and non-residential parts is “mixed use” and pays the non-residential rates. The bands were unchanged for 2026-27; on 17 October 2026 nothing we captured announced a change for 2027-28, and the Welsh Draft Budget is due on 17 November 2026.

Against England. On 17 October 2026 gov.uk (no effective date shown) gave Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on a non-residential purchase in England as zero up to £150,000, 2% from £150,001 to £250,000 and 5% above £250,000. At £500,000 Land Transaction Tax is £12,750 (£250 at 1% plus £12,500 at 5%) against £14,500 (£2,000 at 2% plus £12,500 at 5%), and at £1,000,000 it is £37,750 against £39,500, and the two are equal at £1,175,000 (our calculation).

The Welsh page lists “shops offices agricultural land” and gov.uk’s page lists “commercial property, for example shops or offices”; on 17 October 2026 neither named storage. We did not read the rules for buying a long-term right to occupy a site.

What this guide does not cover

• Scotland. Our guide to starting in Scotland covers its planning, rates and buying tax.
• Northern Ireland. Our guide to starting in Northern Ireland covers its planning and rates.
• England beyond the contrast. Our guide to business rates covers England’s scheme, and our glossary entry on Class B8 covers the class.
• Energy certificates and solar. Our guide to energy performance certificates and rooftop solar covers them.
• Fire, Approved Document B and heritage. Our guide to converting a building covers them for England and notes the Welsh points.
• Licences, VAT, rating entries and containers. Our guide to licences and registrations, VAT glossary entry, guide to the business rates list and guide to planning permission for storage containers cover them.
• What we did not read. The Welsh councils beyond six rates pages, the Community Infrastructure Levy rates, Technical Advice Notes 20 and 10, the House of Commons Library briefing on sustainable drainage, the Upper Tribunal decision that the Rating Manual cites for container values, and Welsh appeals procedure beyond the time limits.

Questions to put to the authorities and a Welsh adviser

• Local planning authority: which use class does it treat a self-storage building as, will it ask for a planning application for a container yard, and is the scheme major development?
• Council as drainage approving body: does a permitted development extension covering 100 m² or more of land need approval?
• Billing authority and Valuation Office: how is a container unit, or a yard of units, entered on the rating list, who is billed, which empty property period does a self-storage building get, and are adjoining small entries treated as one?
• A Welsh planning adviser: is storage held for customers “for the purposes of the undertaking”?
• A tax adviser: how does Land Transaction Tax apply to a long-term right to occupy or a mixed purchase, and is the site non-residential?

Sources

All read on 17 October 2026.

• Use classes: the Use Classes Order 1987 schedule and article 3.
• Permitted development: the 1995 Order, Part 3, Part 6 and Part 8; S.I. 2026/79; the Welsh Government’s 2025 consultation outcome, last updated 19 December 2025.
• Planning policy: Planning Policy Wales edition 12, February 2024; Technical Advice Notes 23 (28 February 2014), 15 (20 March 2026) and 24 (25 March 2026), each as last updated.
• Manuals: the Welsh Government’s Development Management Manual, last updated 24 September 2026, and the Valuation Office’s Rating Manual page on self storage (linked under Containers).
• England, biodiversity: gov.uk’s biodiversity net gain page, last updated 14 July 2026.
• The Act: the Planning (Wales) Act 2026, section 409 and section 3; the Welsh Government’s consolidation page, last updated 7 August 2026.
• Fees: the Welsh Ministers’ Fee Document, from 1 December 2025; S.I. 2025/1095; regulation 9 of S.I. 2015/1522; the fee policy page, 20 October 2025.
• England, fees: the government’s fee table from 1 April 2026.
• Time and appeals: articles 22, 2B, 2C and 26 of the 2012 Order; regulation 61 of the 2017 Regulations; the Welsh Government’s appeal page, last updated 11 July 2025.
• Statistics: the Welsh Government’s quarterly survey, January to March 2026, published 6 July 2026 and updated 28 July 2026, and its index.
• Drainage in Wales: Schedule 3 to the Flood and Water Management Act 2010; S.I. 2018/1074; S.I. 2018/1075; the Welsh Government’s guidance, fee page of 24 March 2026 and review.
• Drainage in England: the government’s national standards page, 30 July 2025; its press release of 10 January 2023; Parliament’s written answer of 28 January 2025.
• Building control: the Welsh Government’s regulation of the building control profession, last updated 22 January 2026.
• Multipliers: Business Wales’s multipliers page; S.I. 2025/1163; S.I. 2026/39; the Welsh Government’s statement of 3 December 2025; gov.uk’s estimate your business rates.
• The Valuation Office: gov.uk’s news story on the Valuation Office joining HM Revenue and Customs, 1 April 2026.
• Revaluation: HM Revenue and Customs’ statistical commentary, background information and workbook, 1 April 2026.
• Reliefs: Business Wales on transitional relief, small business rates relief, empty property relief and improvement relief.
• Other relief pages: Business Wales’s food and drink hospitality relief and rates overview, last updated 18 September 2026.
• Duties: Business Wales’s duty to report changes and September 2026 stakeholder update; S.I. 2026/15.
• Rating law: S.I. 2017/1229, S.I. 2008/2499, S.I. 2021/118, and section 43 and section 64 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988.
• Containers: the Valuation Office’s Rating Manual on self storage hereditaments and land used for storage.
• Councils: Pembrokeshire, Swansea, Conwy (the business rates quick reference leaflet on conwy.gov.uk), the Vale of Glamorgan and Rhondda Cynon Taf.
• Buying tax: the Welsh Revenue Authority’s rates and bands, last updated 10 December 2024, overview and non-residential and mixed use guide.
• Buying tax, budgets and England: the Welsh Government’s Draft Budget statement, 14 October 2025; gov.uk’s Stamp Duty Land Tax page for non-residential and mixed property.