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<p>To further support new housing supply and home ownership we are announcing further
changes to permitted development rights. When the Government brought forward measures
from the summer 2014 ‘Technical consultation on planning’ we undertook to further
consider the case for extending the office to residential reforms, which are helping
to provide more new homes on brownfield land. These rights are being used, with almost
4,900 applications received by councils in the five quarters ending June 2015 and
4,000 approved during the same period, without needing to go through the whole planning
process.</p><p>Given the extensive use of the right, I can confirm that the Government
intends to make permanent the permitted development right that provides for offices
to change to residential use and extend the right to allow for demolition of the office
and replacement by new housing on a like for like basis. This has the potential to
allow for a new building to better accommodate new homes and improve design quality.
We will allow for those applicants who already have prior approval or who secure a
new prior approval to have three years from the date of their approval in which to
complete the change of use.</p><p>Those areas that are currently exempt from the office
to residential permitted development right, such as the City of London, the London
Central Activities Zone and Central Manchester will remain so until May 2019. This
will provide time for local authorities with exemptions to bring forward an Article
4 direction in line with national policy for these areas if they wish. Alongside this,
we will also bring forward new permitted development rights for three years that allow
buildings up to 500m2 used for light industry compatible with housing, to change to
residential use. There will also be a permanent right for launderettes of up to 150m2
to change to residential. These changes will further increase the contribution to
housing delivery and reduce unnecessary planning regulations.</p><p>These permitted
development rights allow more development to take place without the need for a planning
application. They will be subject to prior approval, allowing consideration by the
local planning authority of specific planning matters.</p>
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