Communities secretary Eric Pickles wants to scrap the planning approval requirement for changing use from a commercial property to a residential property, which can be costly and time consuming, so it is easier for developers to turn vacant offices into new homes.
In 2009-10 housebuilding hit a record low of 129,000 new homes, the lowest level in any peacetime year since 1924. Only 2.8% came from office conversions, despite the latest commercial vacancy rate being 7-9%. This suggests there is an oversupply of commercial land, the government figures. It calculates that if all the long-term office space currently available was converted it could potentially deliver 250,000 new homes and save close to £140m over 10 years just in red tape costs.
A wider review of the change of use rules, known as Use Classes Orders, and its interaction with permitted development rights will also be carried out to reduce the planning burden further.
Mr Pickles also called for local communities and authorities to make greater use of their existing local planning powers, Local Development Orders, to grant permission and reduce the planning burden locally.
Mr Pickles said: "Many towns and cities have office blocks, warehouse and business parks needlessly lying empty, while housebuilding has fallen to the lowest in peace time history because the planning system has tied developers up in knots of red tape.
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"By unshackling developers from a legacy of bureaucratic planning we can help them turn thousands of vacant commercial properties into enough new homes to jump start housing supply and help get the economy back on track. Councils already have powers to give greater local planning discretion and they should us them more to promote growth."
Decentralisation and planning minister Greg Clark added: "Patterns of office use have changed as employers prefer large open plan spaces to individual offices and as more and more people work from home. That has meant that there are many offices that have been vacant for years.
"This change will make it easy to turn redundant offices into much needed homes. This will replace derelict properties with buildings in good use, contribute to relieving Britain's housing shortage and give a valuable boost to the building industry."
The consultation seeks views on the proposal to amend the Town & Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 to grant permitted development rights for change of use from class B1 (Business), B2 (General Industry) and B8 (Storage and distribution) to class C3 (Dwelling houses) without the need for planning applications. Deadline for submission of views is 30 June 2011.
To see the full document, click here.
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