Lambeth to pursue Article 4 direction to protect employment space

The London Borough of Lambeth intends to impose an Article 4 Direction on parts of its area to protect employment space.

If adopted, this would nullify the Government’s policy of allowing conversions by permitted development right from offices to residential space without the need for planning permission.

Continued loss of offices would undermine Lambeth’s economic growth by creating a scarcity of space for small and start-up businesses, the council said.

The direction would remove these rights from Brixton and parts of Clapham, re-imposing the need to secure planning permission for changes of use.

Jack Hopkins, the council's cabinet member for regeneration, business and culture, said: “Lambeth needs homes and jobs but the Government’s scheme risks us losing valuable employment space and having poor quality housing which is no win for anyone except speculative developers.

“Businesses can’t grow and nor can our local economy if we lose space for people to work and end up with substandard accommodation like beds in sheds.”

The council said that some 1.5m square metres of office floor space across London could potentially be lost to residential use under permitted development rights, equivalent to the space needed for 93,750 jobs.

Since the introduction of the permitted development right in May 2013, Lambeth has received 235 applications for changes of use from office to residential, leading to the potential replacement of some 14,000 square metres of office floor space by 508 homes.

Mark Smulian