Government planning proposals: further relaxation for residential conversions

In a consultation document issued on 31st July, the government announced plans for further relaxations around the conversion of commercial property to residential use. The two key proposals are in Section 2 of the Consultation document ("Reducing planning regulations to support housing, high streets and growth") and were as follows:

1. to implement a permanent but refined "prior approval" regime for conversion of offices to residential use, currently due to expire at the end of May 2016;
2. to introduce the similar "prior approval" regime for light industrial units (Use Class B1(c)) and storage and distribution bulidings (B8) and some sui generis uses such as laundrettes, casinos, amusement arcades and night-clubs.

Readable Section 2 of the Consulation document is a good read for those familiarising themselves with the whole planning regime around use classes, General Permitted Development rights and the "prior approval" process: the basics are laid out clearly. You can download the consultation document from here. Office to Residential to be permanent? The permitted approval regime for office to residential conversions is due to expire 30th May 2016. In addition 33 areas within 17 local authorities were granted exemptions from the relaxation - though many more applied and were disgruntled to be refused, to the extent of mounting (so far failed) attempts to take the government to judicial review about the way it handled the process of evaluating the applications for exemptions. CLG recently authorised Brighton City Council's Article 4 direction that will remove the permitted development right in a limited area, but other authorities that have tried the Article 4 route have been less successful. The proposal being consulted on involves a temporary extension of the existing relaxation for a further three years i.e. to 30th May 2019. This is to ensure that the stream of conversions does not dry up, given the lead time involved. But the main proposal is to introduce a new permanent permitted development right where there are no longer any exemptions. Instead of exemptions the government wants to introduce new considerations into the prior approval process that would be applicable anywhere. The new consideration would be "the potential impact of the significant loss of the most strategically important office accommodation...This will be a tightly defined prior approval..." The consultation document goes on to welcome suggestions for wording for this "tightly defined" criterion. This effectively throws the matter of exemptions back into the mainstream planning processes of approvals, refusals and appeals: planning consultants will be rubbing their hands unless the government really can come up with a tight enough definition of "most srategically important office accommodation". New flexibilities Light industrial and warehouse buildings The proposal is intended to "make best use of existing underused light industrial, storage and distribution buildings to create much needed new homes". ("Light industrial use" applies to "premises which are used for any industrial process provided it is compatible with being carried out in any residential area without any detrimental impact to the area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit".) There would be a prior approval mechanism similar to that currently in place for office buildings but potentially with an important additional criterion: the consultation enquires whether prior approval should "be able to take account of the impact of a residential use being introduced into an
existing industrial/employment area". There is an indication that the change of use might be restricted to more isolated buildings but not to those situated in "business" or "industrial" estates. Sui generis uses As noted the proposal is to extend permitted development rights, with a prior approval process, to the following sui generis uses: launderettes, amusement arcades/centres, casinos and nightclubs (this is the full list, not a number of examples). Reading between the lines, these seem to have been selected on the basis that they have extended opening hours and thus potentially produce more anti-social impacts. The permitted development rights are also proposed to include the right for limited external works such as changes to frontages, windows and doors though there is also a mention of possibly needing prior approval for "design and external appearance of the building", which might cut across this in some respects. Consolidated General Permitted Development Order A further proposal that will be welcomed by any lay person trying to get to grips with the General Permitted Development Orde (particularly as it applies to conversions) is the proposal to consolidate it: this means the regulations would be in a single document rather the users having to wade through over 20 separate amending regulations since the GPDO was first introduced in 1995. The consultation comments that this "will make the regulations more accessible and easier to use": for anyone without access to a legal encyclopaedia this might more accurately have been phrased "will make the regulations accessible and possible to use". Deadline for responses The consultation is due to end on 26th September 2014.