Leading industry bodies have issued a joint letter today to The Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP – Secretary of State for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) – to urge the Government to recognise that its proposals for a blanket permitted development right on our high streets, enabling conversions to residential without planning permission, will put the future of town centres at serious risk.
The coalition of industry bodies – comprising 27 leaders from across the property, retail, leisure, hospitality and planning sectors – have pur forward that town centres must be planned by local authorities working alongside businesses and the community.
The letter pointed out that while the residential sector will play a “vital” role in future town centre recovery, the Government’s proposed new PDR will encourage delivery of new homes in an “uncoordinated” manner on our high streets, threatening the existence of community services, education, healthcare and leisure, among others.
The letter said that blanket permitted development rights for E Use Class to residential would damage these objectives for relatively minimal returns on additional housing stock, putting the long-term health of town centres at risk for the sake of a short-term stimulus.
It added also warned: “At the neighbourhood level, we consider that local centres would be particularly at risk. The loss of local shops and services could precipitate their decline at a time when we are putting greater emphasis on the need for walkable neighbourhoods which provide a range of day-to-day needs in local centres. A change of use to housing is a one-way trip.”
The open letter can be read in full here.
