Government slammed for “dressing up” PD as high street saviour

It’s been dubbed the creator of “slums of the future”, adopting blanket permissions for housing development that bypass local authority scrutiny, with no requirement for infrastructure contribution, affordable homes or minimum design standards. But the government has hailed new and amended permitted development rights as a tool “to support the regeneration of the high street”. This vision of bringing residents into vacating high streets seeks to transform town centres and boost housing delivery. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s proposed planning reform would accelerate this with wider permitted development rights, moving on from office-to-resi to include upwards expansion on high streets and even a new PD for all commercial-to-residential redevelopment. Hugh Ellis, interim chief executive of the Town and Country Planning Association, says the planning reform has nothing to do with regeneration, and positioning this as the saviour of the high street masks the overall goal to enable PD for any commercial-to-resi development. “What’s this got to do with the high street? This is just deflection,” he says. “It is dressed up like that because they knew it was an appalling thing to do.” The Royal Town Planning Institute adds that the plans “fly in the face of democracy and put quality and affordability at risk”. Richard Blyth, RTPI head of policy and research, says the extension of PD represents “piecemeal, short-term measures that neither help declining high streets nor deliver quality, affordable housing”. Saving UK high streets In the Autumn 2018 Budget, the government announced plans to overhaul the UK’s planning system, following publication of the revised National Planning Policy Framework in July. The MHCLG launched an open consultation on planning reform, which included change of use proposals “to support high streets to adapt and diversify”, extension of existing buildings upwards for residential development and a new PD for the demolition of commercial premises for residential redevelopment. Consultation over the planning reform closed this week (14 January) and the responses are in. Ian Fletcher, the British Property Federation’s director of real estate policy, says: “Town centre planning policy should be based on local consumer behaviours and trends, and a local authority should have control over the implementation of any new permitted development rights in its area.” Ellis adds: “The big one is the right to demolish a building and rebuild it – that’s the one that will really have a catastrophic impact.” In a statement to EG, housing minster Kit Malthouse MP said: “The simple truth is over the last three decades governments of all stripes and have built too few homes of all types. “Permitted development rights are a key tool to get more homes built more quickly. High streets are changing, and our proposals to speed up the planning system will help communities make the best use of existing buildings.” But Ellis says the Treasury is playing a “numbers game” with little regard for the product. The RICS estimates that between 2010 and 2017 up to 95,000 homes have been enabled through PD, and the government hopes to increase that number by extending the policy to hit the annual target of 300,000 new homes per year. “They are interested in handing very large valuable assets into the real estate market,” says Ellis. And he warns that planners and investors should steer clear of these schemes and avoid the risk of liabilities and an oversupply of lower-quality housing flooding the market. “This is dead. If you’re an investor out there and you think you’re going to make money out of this process, watch the legal liabilities and watch this agenda,” Ellis says. “Creating all this substandard housing will have a very serious impact on the market long-term, and no-one is talking about that.” PD advocates Amid the ardent opponents there is a handful of advocates who support this mechanism to save money and speed up delivery of homes. Alex Morton, former head of housing at Policy Exchange, pioneered the concept of PD, which was initially proposed in 2013, and advisers at Create Streets have pushed for the reform and extension of PD, adding the caveat that consultation on design codes would be necessary. Specialist roof-space developer Apex Airspace also supports the proposals. Chief executive Arshad Bhatti says: “Permitted development rights, with some consideration to design so it doesn’t lead to unintended consequences, would be a good thing. “We are in support of more residential development above existing properties, especially in London’s context, because we have such a chronic housing shortage.” Apex Airspace estimates that conversion of roof spaces could deliver an additional 180,000 homes in London alone, with a potential £20bn of development opportunity on local authority and housing association properties. The developer is also in talks with a number of retailers to unlock the potential space above large stores and supermarkets. “We are working with the government on the consultation on airspace,” adds Bhatti. “We are the main people supporting this concept that has so much potential.” He says the use of PD to build upwards, combined with off-site modular construction techniques, is the fastest and most economical way to deliver homes at scale. “There shouldn’t be any compromise, but the process should be set up in a way that is PD, so the uncertainty around planning is taken care of.” To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette Photo: Janine Wiedel/REX/Shutterstock