We previously wrote about the Government consultation, “Planning Reform: Supporting the high street and increasing the delivery of new homes”, regarding the expansion of permitted development rights, which closed on 14 January 2019.  The Chancellor’s March Spring Statement and the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Written Ministerial Statement provide an update.

Housing

Takeaways will be allowed to convert to residential use without the need for planning permission imminently. The proposed permitted development right to extend commercial and residential buildings upwards is to be taken forward.  Interested parties will need to be engaged with on design and technical details and the existing streetscape will need to be respected.  This more complex right will be introduced in the Autumn, with more detail likely to be set out in the formal consultation response. 

The proposal to allow the change of use from storage to residential to be made permanent is not to be taken forward.  The introduction of a right to allow commercial buildings to be demolished and replaced with housing is not being taken forward at this stage but remains on the table.  Further work will be carried out to consider it.

The High Street

Proposals to allow shops, financial and professional services, laundrettes, pay day loan shops, betting shops and hot food takeaways to be used for offices without the need for planning permission, subject to a prior approval process, are to be taken forward.  (As mentioned above, takeaways are also to be allowed to convert to residential use without the need for consent.) The ability to test the market for alternative uses is also supported.  The right for a temporary change of use is to be extended from 2 to 3 years with the aim of encouraging community uses to the high street. 

Other Announcements

Other planning updates set out in the Spring Statement and Written Ministerial Statement include:

a £3 billion Affordable Homes Guarantee scheme, to support delivery of around 30,000 affordable homes;

a £1 billion Enable Build SME guarantee fund (previously announced in the Budget);

£717 million from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to unlock up to 37,000 new homes on sites in West London, Cheshire, Didcot, and Cambridge;

additional planning guidance on the diversification of housing will be produced, with the need for further interventions to support diversification and faster build out kept under review;

a “Better Planning for High Streets” guide will be published, outlining measures available to local planning authorities, such as compulsory purchase, local development orders and other innovative tools, in reshaping high streets and creating prosperous communities;

a forthcoming Accelerated Planning Green Paper, drawing on the Rosewell Review, to look at end-to-end planning process improvements and, perhaps, compulsory purchase; and

development of a Future Homes Standard through consultation, with a view to introducing the standard in 2025.

With several of the proposed changes to expand permitted development being taken forward, the Accelerated Planning Green Paper, and no new diversification requirements, the news is to be welcomed by the development industry.