As recently as the 12th July we published a news story reporting that the moves to encourage wholesale conversion of redundant commercial premises to housing had "ended with a whimper". The original bold (not to say wild?) proposal had been whittled down to allowing the conversion of space above retail premises in A1/A2 use classes to two flats without planning permission, instead of one as at present.
Then, on 1st September, in what seemed to be a non-story of epic proportions, Eric Pickles "announced" that he had approved this very measure (although it had already been announced in the government's response to the Mary Portas review. The Statutory Insrument is now in our Library here..
Today, however, the statement on Housing and Growth contained the following:
We will introduce permitted development rights to enable change of use from commercial to residential purposes, while providing the opportunity for authorities to seek a local exemption where they believe there will be an adverse economic impact. This common sense measure will help the regeneration of our towns and cities. Our high streets will benefit from a greater resident population, increasing footfall and supporting local shops.
This could either mean a return to the proposal for conversion on a much larger scale than just announced on 1st September, constituting a U-turn on a U-turn, or it might be a way of inflating the significance of the piffling measure announced on the 1st September; or it might be something in-between. Given that Nick Boles is now Planning Minister and is thought to have been associated with the original proposal for conversion on a larger scale, the balance is tipped towards the more radical interpretation.