Government to expand permitted development rights and increase planning fees in bid to deliver housing

The Government has announced a raft of planning policy commitments, including a pledge to expand permitted development rights in order to allow shops to be converted into flats and extensions to be built without planning permission.

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove set out the reforms in a statement published today (24 July), which also included a new £24 fund to tackle skill shortages in planning and a pledge to increase the amount developers pay in planning fees.

In detailing the plans, Gove said the Government will consult on new and amended permitted development rights that would make it easier to convert larger department stores, space above shops and office space.

Further measures will be consulted on in the Autumn on how to support existing homeowners better to extend their homes or build loft conversions.

"The plan also backs rural communities, with changes to support farm diversification and development, to allow businesses to extend and more outdoor markets to be held", Gove said.

Gove did, however, note that local removal of permitted development rights through Article 4 Directions will only be agreed upon where there is evidence of wholly unacceptable impacts.

The statement also acknowledged the forthcoming changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that were consulted on in the beginning of the year.

Gove said: "The government's commitment to development and regeneration in and around existing town and city centres is also guiding its consideration of responses to the consultation on updating the National Planning Policy Framework."

He said the Government wants to make it easier to progress such developments, stating that:

• Development should proceed on sites that are adopted in a local plan with full input from the local community unless there are strong reasons why it cannot.
• Local councils should be open and pragmatic in agreeing on changes to developments where conditions mean that the original plan may no longer be viable, rather than losing the development wholesale or seeing development mothballed.
• Better use should be made of small pockets of brownfield land by being more permissive, so more homes can be built more quickly, where and how it makes sense, giving more confidence and certainty to SME builders.

According to the statement, the Government will publish updates to the NPPF "later in the year".

Gove reiterated that local authorities should continue to develop their local plans. His call comes after a string of councils paused their local plan-making following the announcement of the proposed changes to the NPPF in December 2022.

He also announced an additional consultation on reforming local plans to make them "simpler, shorter and more visual, showing clearly what is planned in local areas so communities can engage".

Alongside this, Gove announced new funding aimed at tackling the "bottlenecks" in the planning system that slow down development. This includes a new £24m 'Planning Skills Delivery Fund' that will help "clear planning backlogs and get the right skills in place".

A further £13.5m in funding has been announced to establish a "super-squad" team of leading planners and other experts charged with working across the planning system to unblock major housing developments.

The team will be deployed at sites across the Government's eight new Investment Zones in England.

The Government also committed to increase the amount developers pay in planning fees. Gove said the decision follows the Government's recent consultation on planning fees.

A new body called the Office for Place will also be established, which will "lead a design revolution and ensure local people have a say in how housing is designed", according to the statement.

"The Office for Place will support residents to demand what they find beautiful from developers – ensuring every local place is built to reflect the individual local character and beauty of every community across the country", Gove said.

Commenting on the Government's announcement of an expansion of permitted development rights, Cllr Shaun Davies, Chair of the Local Government Association, said: "There is no doubt that we need more homes as well as to reinvigorate our high streets and town centres. However, premises such as offices, barns, and shops are not always suitable for housing."

Cllr Davies warned that further expanding permitted development rights "risks creating poor quality residential environments that negatively impact people's health and wellbeing, as well as a lack of affordable housing or suitable infrastructure".

She added: "It is disappointing that the Government have ignored their own commissioned research that concluded that homes converted through a planning application process deliver higher quality homes than those converted via permitted development rights. The proposals are also at odds with their ambitions to give local communities greater control over developments where they live.

Cllr Davies called for new homes to be built through a locally-led planning system. "Only this ensures a mix of high-quality, affordable housing that meets the needs of local communities, while also giving those communities the opportunity to shape and define the area they live in", she noted.

Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of the Royal Town Planning Institute, welcomed the new funding, noting: "I believe this investment into the planning system will make a significant contribution to alleviating the pressure placed on England's planning services. Well-resourced Local Planning Authorities have the power to make a unique contribution to their areas, helping to deliver the affordable homes, public services, and critical infrastructure individuals, families and communities need."

Adam Carey