Permitted development rights: a solution to our dying high streets, or a permit for future slums?

By Joey Gardiner, Ben Clifford, Andrew Forth and Julia Park 2020-07-28T06:00:00

The government’s expansion of permitted development rights from the end of August has united many professional bodies in vehement opposition. Joey Gardiner explains the reasoning behind the move and why it is so controversial, while opponents Ben Clifford, Andrew Forth and Julia Park voice their concerns

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Planners, architects, surveyors and chartered construction professionals have all condemned the government’s decision to press ahead with the creation of a raft of new permitted development rights.

The new rules, which include a right for developers to demolish vacant office and industrial premises and rebuild them as homes, were branded “disgraceful” by the RIBA, while the Royal Town Planning Institute described them as a “serious error”.

The government has pushed ahead with introducing the rights despite most of the changes being opposed in previous consultations – and despite the conclusions of a recent government-commissioned review which found that previous permitted development rights had created significantly worse-quality homes.

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