The British Property Federation (BPF) has pledged its support for an extension of permitted development rights, which allow office to residential conversions without planning permission, following the end of the scheme in 2016.
It has, however, expressed concerns over government proposals to introduce a ‘one size fits all’ test to assess which areas should be exempt from the scheme.
When the scheme was introduced in 2013 local authorities, in a hard-fought and competitive process, applied to the Secretary of State for areas of significant offices to be exempt. The government has proposed that from 2016, local authorities must assess whether they are eligible for an exemption according to strict criteria set by central government. The BPF is concerned that the criteria will not suit the diverse range of regions in the UK. Further to this, the administrative burden of the self assessment could introduce unacceptable levels of uncertainty for local authorities and prospective developers, and will end up leading to less, rather than more, development.
The BPF instead suggests that the Secretary of State should identify broad criteria for what constitutes a strategic office location. Responsibility will then be passed on to the local authority to assess the most strategically important offices in the local area. Developers will be able to benefit from a subsequent consultation process, and the local authority can make a decision about its own employment land.
The BPF has broadly supported permitted development rights believing that they play a part in supplying much-needed homes in the UK. Since their introduction in May 2013, nearly 9,000 homes in London have received planning permission, which is significantly higher than the past 10 year average of 865 per annum.
The BPF has supported DCLG’s plans to extend permitted development rights to allow laundrettes, casinos, amusement arcades and nightclubs to be turned into homes. It cautioned that plans to allow industrial units and warehouses to change to residential use would not significantly boost housing numbers as such buildings are often deliberately set apart from residential areas, and would require significant changes to be turned into satisfactory homes.
Liz Peace, chief executive, British Property Federation, said: “A top-down, one-size-fits-all approach to office to residential conversions is not an efficient way to create more homes. Consider the different needs of a borough like Westminster to a small metropolitan area outside London. There is no way that the same set of criteria can apply to both areas. Allowing local authorities to each assess their own situation will yield much better results.
“Extending the current rules to other resources in a community such as laundrettes and casinos also offers potential, although we remain unconvinced that many developers would choose to turn a warehouse into a residential hub.”
