A major industry campaign has started against permitted development rights, led by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).
They have written an open letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government and the letter is backed by 15 other organisations, including the Local Government Association (LGA), Shelter, and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).
The groups are worried about the government's plan to expand permitted development rights for housing and further reducing the requirement for planning permission.
Permitted development means 'we are losing out on thousands of affordable homes'
Research by the LGA and Shelter shows that more than 10,000 affordable homes have been lost in the last three years due to office buildings being converted into homes through permitted development rights.
The letter highlights the housing crisis in England, with over 270,000 people homeless and more than 1.2 million households on council house waiting lists.
The coalition criticises permitted development rights for allowing developers to bypass local planning rules and avoid contributing to affordable housing, mainly due to the government allowing office spaces to be converted without planning permission.
The letter by the RTPI explained: “Since 2013, developers have had a national right to convert office space into residential homes, a right they have wholly embraced with nearly seven per cent of new homes provided in this way in the last three years.
“Unfortunately, because they are exempt from the full local planning process, they come forward with minimal scrutiny and outside of local authority control. These homes are also delivered without making any contribution towards affordable housing, which other forms of developments are required to do.
"This means that we are losing out on thousands of affordable homes which would be delivered if these homes went through the planning system."
Claims PD produces lower quality housing
The RTPI coalition argues that permitted development rights also makes the housing stock lower in quality.
The campaign opposes government proposals to allow the demolition and replacement of buildings and adding floors to existing buildings without full planning approval, as well as the recent decision to allow offices to be converted under permitted development rights.
Chief Executive of the RTPI, Victoria Hills, criticised the decision to allow homes to be converted without planning permission as she said: “Permitted Development Rights have had mixed results so far. As highlighted in RTPI’s written evidence submitted to the Parliament, many homes created through these routes are of poor quality and have little access to essential amenities like schools, GPs, and playgrounds.
"This issue is not limited to office blocks, as some of the worst living environments created this way have been on industrial sites."
A leading health charity, Medact, also previously warned of the expansion of permitted development rights claiming they could contribute to a decline in living standards by placing families in cramped conditions.
LGA says less planning fees mean planning violations cannot be enforced
The RTPI warns that PDR could financially hurt local authorities because they wouldn't be able to collect planning fees.
The LGA stated permitted development rights need to be "urgently revoked" as due to a loss of funding from planning applications and Section 106 payments local councils would not be able to oversee planning enforcement properly or address planning violations.
As Parliament is currently dissolved it remains to be seen whether the new government will address these concerns about permitted development rights.
The full list of those who signed the letter are:
- Greg Beales, Campaigns Director, Shelter
- Cllr Martin Tett, Chair of Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport Board, Local Government Association
- Hugh Ellis, Interim Chief Executive, Town and Country Planning Association
- Ben Clifford, Associate Professor in Spatial Planning and Government, Bartlett School of Planning, UCL
- Terrie Alafat, Chief Executive, Chartered Institute of Housing
- Kate Henderson, Chief Executive, National Housing Federation
- Matthew Goulcher, Managing Director, Levitt Bernstein
- Crispin Truman, Chief Executive, Campaign to Protect Rural England
- Ben Derbyshire, President, Royal Institute of British Architects
- Paul Seddon, President, Planning Officers Society and Chair, Core Cities Chief Planners Group
- Paul Hackett, Chair, G15
- Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive, Crisis
- Victoria Hills, Chief Executive, Royal Town Planning Institute
- Joanna Killian, Spokesperson for Economic Prosperity and Housing, Solace
- Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor, Liverpool City Region
- Cllr Philip Atkins, Spokesman for Housing, Planning & Infrastructure, County Councils Network
