Do you own a high street property? Could our high streets become purely residential? Controversial, new planning laws enabling unused commercial buildings to be converted into homes are being put into law, the Government Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has announced.<\/p>\n
Rather than needing full planning permission, the new planning regulations will enable unused commercial buildings with a floor space of 1,500 square meters or less, to be converted into residential buildings via a simpler \u2018prior approval\u2019 process.<\/p>\n
The changes represent an expansion of the current permitted development rights, which already allow developments, like the conversion of office blocks to residential accommodation, to go ahead without a full planning application.<\/p>\n
Estimates<\/a> have put the number of new homes needed in England at 345,000 per year. The Government believes allowing unused commercial buildings to be changed into homes will help meet these targets while also rejuvenating our high streets enabling more people to come to the area for work and leisure.<\/p>\n Although the new laws will take a lot of powers away from local councils, \u2018the right\u2019 (to convert\/develop) will still be open for local consideration by the local planning authorities for specific planning matters through the \u2018prior approval’ process in terms of:<\/p>\n To protect against mass overdevelopment of our high streets, the new laws also include a \u2018vacancy requirement\u2019 that will ensure the building changing use has been vacant for three months before the date of the application to protect businesses currently renting those premises.<\/p>\n The building must also have been in ‘commercial business and service’ use for two years before benefiting from the right to change its use.<\/p>\n This news is obviously great news for high street landlords who want to develop their properties.\u00a0However, despite the Government\u2019s assurances that their protection measures will prevent the system from being abused, there is a lot of industry disquiet about these changes.<\/p>\n For example, the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) says the new Permitted Development rights allowing change of use from commercial, business and service uses (Class E) to residential use (C3) in England, risks \u2018tearing at the fabric of local communities and jeopardising the vibrancy of high streets.\u2019<\/p>\n Chief Executive of the RTPI, Victoria Hills, said: \u201cI fear that these new regulations will be a golden gift for unscrupulous landlords and developers who will be falling over themselves to make a quick buck on residential conversions. It will do nothing for our high streets if all ground floor commercial units are turned into homes<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n