Last month the Government announced that it would enact legislation to relax planning laws so that full planning applications will not be required to demolish and rebuild unused buildings making it easy to convert commercial and retail properties into residential property. This could be the key to a swift revival of high streets and town centres by repurposing existing property.
If approved these new rules should come into effect in September.
The Government is also proposing to reform England’s planning system, it claims, “to deliver more high-quality, well-designed homes, and beautiful and greener communities for people to live in.” although the details have not yet been made public.
On the face of it, if the rule changes do become law this will be a significant boost to construction and building companies and suppliers, like us, of building materials.
Presumably, also, developers could benefit from a relaxation of the planning conditions that often accompany such projects, whereby local authorities can make planning consent conditional on the provision of a proportion of affordable housing or other community amenities via a Section 106 Agreement.
In answer to concerns raised by such bodies as the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) and the Local Government Association (LGA) that it will lead to a decline in standards, the Government has said that the measures are designed to cut out bureaucracy “to get Britain building” but will also protect high standards: “Developers will still need to adhere to building regulations.”
It has also pledged that pubs, libraries, village shops and other buildings essential to communities will not be covered by these new flexibilities. This will help avoid the decline of village and community life by preserving local amenities although most local libraries and many pubs have already closed.
Although a controversial initiative, we believe this would be a welcome boost for construction and associated industries and for employment through the jobs it will create. What do you think?
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