New rules to allow high street homes
New rules allowing commercial premises in England to be converted into homes are to come into force, in a bid to revitalise high streets.
The new planning laws mean that full planning applications will not be required and the homes will instead be delivered through a prior approval process.
NEW RULES allowing commercial premises in England to be converted into homes are to come into force, in a bid by the Government to revitalise high streets and town centres.
The new planning laws, announced by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick and introduced today, mean full planning applications will not be required and the homes will instead be delivered through a prior approval process.
The package will also introduce a “fast track” for extending public buildings, such as schools, colleges and hospitals, according to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Public buildings are currently able to have small extensions without the need for full planning application but, under new rules, they can extend further and faster with a more streamlined planning process.
The department said that converting unused commercial buildings into homes will encourage more people to live near high streets and come into the area for work and leisure.
It insisted that new homes will be subject to high standards, ensuring that they provide adequate natural light and meet space standards.
Mr Jenrick said: “We are creating the most small business friendly planning system in the world to provide the flexibility needed for high streets to bounce back from the pandemic.
“By diversifying our town and city centres and encouraging the conversion of unused shops into cafes, restaurants or even new homes, we can help the high street to adapt and thrive for the future.
“The public also want improvements to public services as quickly as possible and so these changes will also help schools and hospitals to adapt quickly to changing needs with a new fast track for extending public service buildings.
“This will help deliver more classrooms and hospital space by helping them extend further and faster.”
The Government has also announced changes to permitted development right regulations, to ensure the demolition of unlisted heritage assets – such as statues, memorials and monuments – is subject to planning decisions.
Other measures include the amendment of existing permitted development rights for ports, so that they have the same freedoms as airports for undertaking development.
Experts say high streets and town centres in Yorkshire and nationwide are unlikely to return to what they were like pre-pandemic as lockdown measures have sped up the transformation that was taking place anyway due to changing shopping habits.
Local leaders have spoken of the need to reimagine how town and city centres will look in the years to come, with fewer shops and more homes and civic space.
After a year which has seen a number of high-profile high street closures, it was announced last week that eight John Lewis stores will not re-open with other non-essential retail next month.
These include sites in York and Sheffield city centre, where the John Lewis building is owned by the city council. Suggestions for it now include a ‘retail laboratory’ for start-up shops which can expand within the building, social housing, rooftop gardens, an arts and concert venue and a new home for the Graves Gallery, as well as restaurants and cafes.
City council chief executive Kate Josephs said: “City centres globally are having to reimagine what they are for. During the pandemic people have missed the ability to connect.”
The most small business friendly planning system in the world. Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on his new changes to planning laws.