16th
Dec 2020
The government has just announced a new consultation on whether retail units should be converted into residential properties which could be a great opportunity for landlords and other investors.
The Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government’s (MHCLG) consultation could propose that the general permitted development order could be changed to allow Class E buildings to be put to residential use.
Class E is new category itself and covers many buildings’ uses such as, cafes, restaurants, retail; financial and professional services; indoor sport and recreation; medical or health services; crèche, day nursery and day centres, offices, research and development and light industrial.
If the government decides to go ahead then it will provide a major expansion to the current existing residential conversion rights.
The MHCLG believes that this development right might be applied throughout the country except for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the Broads, National Parks, and any areas that come under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, and World Heritage Sites.
Any listed buildings, scheduled monuments buildings, sites of special scientific interest; military explosives storage and safety hazard areas, areas and sites subject to an agricultural tenancy will remain excluded.
Nicola Gooch, a planning partner at a law firm, says this is a radical proposal “not least because, despite the entire justification for it being related to high streets, the rights are not limited to high street properties. They will, in fact, apply to every GP's surgery, retail park, business park, gym, crèche, nursery or light industrial unit in England that existed and was in use on September 1 2020.”
She continued: “There is a nod to preserving high streets in conservation areas, but it does seem to be just that - a nod. The intention is to include specific prior approval criteria allowing councils to consider the ‘impact of the loss of the ground floor use to residential’ in conservation areas.”
Gooch claims that the necessary paperwork for a conversion to receive planning approval would be a “light touch”.
She adds; “Given the impact that Covid 19, and the associated restrictions, have had on the economy, there will be a real temptation for commercial landlords to flip vacant units to residential before looking at other, more traditional, commercial uses for them. If this is enacted, unless Councils are very quick off the mark with their Article 4 Directions, the future of many high streets may very quickly become predominantly residential.”
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