New Opportunities for Property Investors

NEW PD RIGHTS

New PD rights allowing high street conversions to offices and homes to take effect this month

7 May 2019 by Mark Wilding

Permitted development (PD) rights allowing the conversion of shops and other high street uses to offices and hot food takeaways to homes will come into effect on 25 May, the government has confirmed.

The regulations, laid before parliament last week, follow an announcement made by housing secretary James Brokenshire as part of this year's spring statement that the rights would be introduced.

The statutory instruments do not include the proposed PD right allowing upward extensions to create new housing, though the government said it still intended to proceed with this.

Under the changes, a new class JA of the General Permitted Development Order (GPDO) is created. This allows local authorities to consider proposals for the conversion of shops and other high street uses, including takeaways, betting offices, payday loan shops, and launderettes, to offices under a prior approval process.

Councils will be able to assess whether there is adequate provision of the existing use and the impact on the sustainability of shopping areas when deciding if conversions should be allowed.

The regulations also allow takeaways to change use to housing under class M of the General Permitted Development Order, which already allows retail and sui generis uses to convert to residential without the need for planning permission.

The regulations will also make permanent a temporary PD right for home extensions of up to eight metres, allow the temporary conversion of shops and other high street premises to a wider range of community uses, increase the permitted height of electric vehicle charging points, and remove PD rights for public call boxes.

Meanwhile, the extent of opposition to the introduction of further PD rights has been revealed in a Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) response to a consultation exercise on the proposed changes held at the end of last year.

According to the document, more than half of respondents said they opposed plans to allow the conversion of hot food takeaways to housing. Concerns included the potential to "undermine the vitality" of areas "planned for entertainment and the night-time economy".

More than half of respondents also opposed rights for upward residential extensions, raising concerns about the quality of homes to be delivered, access and safety, and the impact on the existing occupiers and neighbours of the premises being extended.

In its response to the consultation, MHCLG said it welcomed the "range and detail of responses" on upwards extensions, but said it still intended to implement the new right.

"We recognise the complexity of designing a permitted development right to build upwards and will continue to engage with interested parties on the technical details," it said.

Less than a third of respondents supported plans to allow the demolition and replacement of commercial buildings under permitted development rights.

"We intend to continue to consider the design of a permitted development right to allow commercial buildings to be demolished and replaced with homes, in the light of the views received to the consultation," said MHCLG.

Join us next week on Monday for a workshop in the afternoon and then the Legendary Leicester PPN in the evening where we will be looking at the opportunities available on the high street.