Prime Minister Boris Johnson has set out new regulations that will see buildings and land changing use without planning permission, with a policy paper due in July outlining how ‘England’s seven-decade-old planning system will be reformed for modern society’. These measures form part of his government’s plan to level up the country and help the UK recover from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic – to “build back better, build back greener, build back faster”.
The changes set out by the government would see more types of commercial premises having “total flexibility” to be repurposed by reforming the use classes order. These new regulations will give greater freedom for buildings and land in our town centres to change use without planning permission and create new homes from the regeneration of vacant and redundant buildings.
Some of the changes announced this week include:
- A new flexibility for a building used for retail to be able to be permanently used as a café or office without requiring a planning application;
- A wider range of commercial buildings will be allowed to change to residential use without the need for a planning application;
- Builders or Developers will no longer need a normal planning application to demolish and rebuild vacant and redundant residential and commercial buildings if they are rebuilt as homes;
- Property owners will be able to build additional space above their properties via a fast track approval process, subject to neighbour consultation
The Government was clear the these new provisions for flexible change of use and redevelopment will not include pubs, libraries, village shops and other types of uses essential to the lifeblood of communities.
These new regulations are expected to be in place by September this year.
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