The Government have confirmed that temporary rules which allow for the conversion of offices into homes are to be made permanent. They will also be extended to allow for office blocks to be demolished and replaced by dwellings without requiring planning permission.
The acceleration of the Government's housing drive has led to the introduction of rules that make it easier for offices, launderettes and light industrial units to be converted into housing. Planning experts have largely supported the initiative saying that the changes could benefit applicants.
Partner and London head of planning and infrastructure at law firm Irwin Mitchell, Martha Grekos, said the new rule, ''will add value to buildings because it will allow more purpose-built development to come forward, as opposed to, say, costly and compromised refurbishment.''
Richard Lemon, associate director of planning at consultancy CBRE, said the new rule could prove to be significant but there is likely to be ''all sorts of hurdles for applicants to jump.'' He added:
''I'm sure that the overall bulk and the mass of the building will need to be agreed by the local authority at the very least. Developers will need to demonstrate that they can satisfy the local authority that the proposal is acceptable.''
Concerns were raised over the introduction of a permitted development right to allow the conversion of launderettes and light industrial units into homes. Mike Kiely, chairman of the board of the Planning Officers Society, argued that launderettes often provide an essential service in often deprived areas. He further added that industrial units are ''fundamentally not designed to be residential... Often they are metal-framed buildings with a thin cladding on, they do not lend themselves to conversion at all. They tend to be located in industrial areas, which are characterised by noise, smells and heavy traffic.''
The new rule may exacerbate the shortage of light industrial units, and a lot of work would be required to upgrade the land so that it is suitable for residential use. Martha Grekos added: ''I know the whole idea behind this is very much to bring forward housebuilding. But we always need to think about houses that are suitable for actual living."
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