Extensions to permitted development rights (no pun intended!)

The permitted development rights set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015, which (subject to exceptions and certain requirements) grant automatic planning permission for certain types of minor development, have been extended in two ways:

(A) Replacement of Redundant Buildings

The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2020 which comes into force on 31 August, will permit the demolition of certain commercial and residential buildings and their replacement with certain types of residential buildings.

To qualify:

1. Prior approval must first be obtained from the local planning authority as to:

(a) the transport and highways impacts of the development;

(b) contamination risks in relation to the new building;

(c) flooding risks in relation to the new building;

(d) the design of the new building;

(e) the external appearance of the new building;

(f) the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms of each new dwellinghouse in or comprising the new building;

(g) the impact of the development on the amenity of the new building and of neighbouring premises, including overlooking, privacy and light;

(h) impacts of noise from any commercial premises on the intended occupiers of the new dwellinghouses;

(i) the impact on businesses and residents of the development’s introduction of, or increase in, residential use in the area in which the development is to take place;

(j) the impact of the development on heritage and archaeology;

(k) the method of demolition of the old building;

(l) the plans for landscaping of the development, including the planting and maintenance of shrubs and trees; and

(m) any—

(i) air traffic and defence asset impacts of the development, and

(ii) impact that, because of the siting of the new building, the development will have on a protected vista identified in the Directions Relating to Protected Vistas dated 15 March 2012 by the Secretary of State,

unless no part of the new building (including plant, radio masts and antennae)

occupies airspace not occupied by the old building (including plant, radio masts and antennae); AND

2. The existing building must:

• be a single detached building;
• be in existence on 12 March 2020;
• have been built before 1990;
• be an office, research and development or industrial processes, or a free-standing purpose-built block of flats;
• have a footprint no larger than 1,000 square metres;
• be no higher than 18 metres
• have been vacant for at least six months before the date of the application for prior approval; AND

3. The proposed new building must be:

• an individual detached block of flats or a single detached dwellinghouse within the footprint of the old building;
• not more than two storeys higher than the old building with a maximum overall height of 18 metres.

(B) Vertical Extension of Dwellinghouses

Regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Miscellaneous Amendments) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (the Regulations) 2020 which comes into force on 31 August amends the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 by allowing the construction of up to two additional storeys of dwellinghouses to the top-most residential storey of an existing purpose-built, detached blocks of flats.

To qualify:

1. Prior authority prior authority must be obtained from the local planning authority as to:

(a) transport and highways impacts of the development;

(b) air traffic and defence asset impacts of the development;

(c) contamination risks in relation to the building;

(d) flooding risks in relation to the building;

(e) the external appearance of the building;

(f) the provision of adequate natural light in all habitable rooms of the new dwellinghouses;

(g) impact on the amenity of the existing building and neighbouring premises including overlooking, privacy and the loss of light; and

(h) whether because of the siting of the building, the development will impact on a protected view identified in the Directions Relating to Protected Vistas dated 15 March 2012(1) issued by the Secretary of State,

2. The existing building must not:

• be less than three storeys in height;
• have been constructed before 1 July 1947 or after 5 March 2018;
• be located within a site of special scientific interest; or
• have been converted to housing under the certain classes of permitted rights allowing change of use to dwellings, including changing offices to dwellinghouses; AND

3. The proposed extension must not:

• be more than seven metres higher than the existing roof or have any new floors with a floor to ceiling height of more than three metres;
• result in the extended building being more than 30 metres in height.

Affordable Housing

Developers will not be required to provide affordable housing units when exercising these rights

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

In areas where there is a CIL charging schedule, CIL will be payable on the net increase in useable floorspace. This could add significant additional cost to the project.