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12/08/2020
The government recently published a number of new permitted development rights due to take effect at the end of the summer. The rights allow existing residential properties to be demolished to make way for new dwellings. There are also new upwards extension rights for certain dwellings and commercial premises to create new, self-contained residential dwellings.
From 31 August 2020, new permitted development rights allow the demolition of either:
and their replacement with either:
The new right allows ancillary works to be carried out including provision of a new basement, removal of services, plant, accesses and waste facilities and their re-installation into the new building and temporary scaffolding to be erected.
What you can and can’t do
There are no fewer than 20 pre-conditions which limit the new permitted development right. These include (but are not limited to):
Analysis
Clearly part of the government’s agenda to “build, build, build” and deliver more homes, more easily, these new permitted development rights are supposed to be part of a “more streamlined planning process” through a “light-touch prior approval process”.
Reading through the list of pre-conditions to the exercise of the new rights, and the level of detail to be submitted with the prior approval application process, it is hard to see how the prior approval process can be described as “light-touch” given the level of detail to be provided, and the amount of subjective planning judgment that will be exercised at prior approval stage.
This is hardly surprising, as the new rights were announced on the same day as the results of a government review into housing delivered through permitted development which concluded that permitted development conclusions created “worse residential quality environments” in terms of space standards, natural light and amenity space, largely due to location and internal configuration.
The new rights also leave open questions as to what constitutes “adequate” natural light and the correct standards for measuring adequacy, and when a building can be said to have been “vacant”.
However, the new rights do steer the provision of new residential development through permitted development in the right direction for end-users and there are cost-savings to be won for developers in terms of application fees. Whether or not the new rights really do offer greater planning certainty, as the government claims, is debatable: there is no deemed consent if the prior approval application is not granted within 8 weeks, so developers will either have to wait for a decision or appeal using the normal appeal route.
The new rights also leave wide open the question of how the government intends to ensure that the supply of affordable homes matches demand, as local authorities have no means of securing such homes via the prior approval process.
Upwards extensions on existing dwellings
What’s new?
From 31 August 2020, permitted development rights will allow:
but only above the existing highest storey i.e. you can build up, but not down. Associated engineering operations are included within the upwards extensions right.
Which dwellings have the benefit of the new right?
It is important to note that dwellings which are in C3 use following certain specified existing changes of use, including a change from office, retail, light industrial and agricultural to residential, are not entitled to benefit of the new rights.
What you can and can’t do
There are a number of different possibilities in the new rights depending on the type of dwelling being extended. Please consult us for further details but some over-arching points to bear in mind are:
New residential on existing detached commercial/mixed use buildings
What’s new?
From 31 August 2020, two additional storeys of new residential flats can be added above the existing highest storey of detached buildings currently in existing specified commercial or mixed uses.
Which properties will have the benefit of the new right?
Detached properties built between 1st July 1948 and 5th March 2018 which are at least 3 storeys above ground and currently used for:
What you can and can’t do
Again, the rights are subject to a number of limitations and exclusions including:
New residential on existing terraced commercial/mixed use buildings
What’s new?
This right largely mirrors the new right for existing detached commercial/mixed use buildings, with a few key differences including:
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