Jenrick unveils plans to expand PDR to all vacant commercial sites

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has unveiled plans to expand controversial permitted development rights to allow vacant commercial, industrial and even residential to be redeveloped as housing. The government has also proposed additional permitted development rights supporting rooftop buildings, including allowing residential schemes to add two storeys, to be introduced this summer. New residential schemes must be well-designed and  meet natural light standards. Local authorities now face extra pressure from the government to have up-to-date local plans by December 2023, or face intervention. Office-to-residential permitted development rights, which bypass local authorities planning teams and developer contributions, have driven a surge of homes that critics have slammed as the “slums of the future”. The changes follow a raft of pledges to expand permitted development and introduce zoning-style “permission in principle” consents, as well as more extreme measures under consideration to remove local authorities from the decision-making process entirely. Planning reform Jenrick’s announcement comes ahead of the planning white paper, which is “set to radically reform the planning system by speeding up the decision-making process so homes can be built quicker where they are needed the most”. He said the new system will provide a “fast-track for beauty”, championing tree-lined streets and lower carbon emissions. Jenrick said: “We must think boldly and creatively about the planning system to make it fit for the future, and this is just the first step, so we can deliver the homes communities need and help more young people onto the ladder.” The reform will use digital technology to modernise the system and encourage community engagement. It promises to provide transparency over land ownership and options and use of zoning tools to simplify planning permissions. The government is also exploring wider options within this tool to encourage consented housing schemes to be build out more quickly. It has vowed to introduce a new planning fee structure linked to performance frameworks, which it says will provide local authorities with the resources to “improve the speed and the quality of their decisions”. The government has also launched consultation over reform to compulsory purchase order powers. It aims to introduce statutory timescales for decisions, end automatic rights for public inquiry and push through early agreements on compensations. Climate change “This is dramatic and on the face of it a further deregulation of our planning system,” said Hugh Ellis, head of policy at the Town & Country Planning Association. “It is fundamentally anti-democratic, because people don’t have a chance to have any control over it.” Ellis said extension of permitted development could be “a disaster” if it followed previous examples and raised concern over the lack of information around proposed restrictions. “The devil is the detail, nobody really knows what safeguards they intend to impose of this regime”. He added: “The biggest disappointment in today’s announcement is the absence of anything on the climate emergency. There is no commitment, no action, no policy of any kind in the announcement today. “The dramatic impact that climate change will have everywhere is simply not front and centre of the government’s agenda on planning reform and that is a great emission.” In response to the new PDR proposals, Hew Edgar, head of RICS UK government relations and city strategy, said: “It’s bizarre, given their net-zero commitment, that the Government is proposing to make it easier to demolish existing buildings – rather than retrofitting them with the latest technology – it isn’t green or sustainable for our planet and something Ministers have been repeatedly told.” Reform of the planning system is long-awaited. As planning delays soar, cash-strapped councils are struggling to meet the demand of developers. Experts say the system is broken, due to lack of funding and support from government. To send feedback, e-mail emma.rosser@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmmaARosser or @estatesgazette