Boles is expected to announce this week a new “permitted development right”, whereby many offices can be turned into residential properties without any permission, according to reports in the Financial Times (FT) (subscription only). The changes will not, however, apply to shops or warehouses.
The planned measures are believed to be aimed at speeding up the delivery of new homes and increasing the UK's housing supply.
The Government first announced an intention to relax the planning system in the 2011 Budget (104-page 900KB PDF), which set out plans to "consult on proposals to make it easier to convert commercial premises to residential".
A subsequent consultation led to the inclusion of a provision in the National Planning Policy Framework to promote changes from commercial to residential use where there is "an identified need for housing" in the area. An alternative proposal in the consultation had been to remove the need for planning permission altogether and to include the change of use in permitted development orders.
According to the FT reports, the City of London will be promised an exemption from the change. Other cities will also be able to make a case for exemption. The City of London Corporation had strongly opposed the relaxation of the "change of use" rules and has said that the changes would undermine London as the world's leading financial centre.
"From a London perspective, this promises to be a major driver for new homes in London," said Richard Ford, planning expert at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com "The exemption for the City of London may put pressure on West End conversions and the extent to which there is any scope for local authorities to restrict any change of use in their local policies will be important."
"It may also restrict the growing practice of 'land use swaps' approved by some Boroughs in central London and will be watched carefully by serviced apartment developers who will be looking to see whether it is wide enough to deal with part residential and part serviced apartment uses," Ford said.
