Planning reforms could blunt initiative to turn offices into homes
9. Chobham Academy by AHMM
NPPF will let councils rule on use class changes
Plans to boost housing supply by converting empty offices into homes suffered a setback when the policy was watered down in last week’s planning reforms, architects have warned.
Ministers consulted last year on plans to allow the conversion of office buildings without planning permission — a move supported by a number of ex RIBA presidents, spearheaded by Marco Goldschmied, but largely opposed by the RIBA and the City of London.
The National Planning Policy Framework says only that councils should “normally approve” applications to change from commercial to residential — from classes B1, B2 and B8 (business, general industrial and storage) to class C3 (residential).
Goldschmied said: “The rigidity of use classes is a very serious hidden brake on the economy. This is better than nothing but by devolving the decision to different councils, we know that they bring in extraneous factors.
“All we can do is hope local authorities who have historically been opposed will recognise the winds have changed,” he added.
Speaking at a Planning in London conference last week, Design Council Cabe chair Paul Finch said: “Use classes have encouraged a notion of permanence that is quite at odds with reality. You design mono-use buildings which, if you’re not using them for that purpose, you might as well demolish and start again.”
Other speakers calling for a further relaxation of change-of-use rules included chair of the National Planning Forum, Brian Waters, and Philip Turner, associate director at AHMM.
Those opposed to loosening the use class system have warned that lack of restrictions could be exploited by developers to avoid planning obligations such as providing affordable housing.
But architect and developer Roger Zogolovitch said other benefits had been overlooked. “There’s a lot of discussion in our industry about retrofitting,” he said. “What’s not been understood about the proposal to change use-class orders is that any work would trigger the requirement to upgrade the property under building regulations.”
AHMM head champions flexible design
Philip Turner, associate director at AHMM, said his practice had designed flexibility into the Chobham Academy (pictured), a school that will be used as offices this summer by the Olympics organising committee.
Turner called for this approach to become more widespread. “Warehousing can become offices, restaurants or swimming pools,” he said. “Build the buildings right and they become flexible.”
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Readers' comments (6)
When oh when will the RIBA wake up to the desperate need to reverse the rampant and ever increasing burden of the planning system which merely serves to delay development needlessly add cost?
'plans to boost housing supply...setback' ??? what do you think the 'land tax' levy will do? it will be approx £9,000 on a 2 bed and £30,000 on a 4/5 bed.
that sure won't help land supply
The government is enhancing the right for local authorities to use use class changes as a highly inefficient tax collection system. This measure will lower office rents (particularly in places where there is far too much supply) and raise housing costs. Town planners, chartered surveyors and the few more astute architects will be able to milk the system at will. But Britain's towns and cities will suffer gravely.
as we all know obtaining planning is like walking thru a maze and expensive process. Planning authority being the major problem within the system. new NPPF gives absolute power back to Council/planner thru Local Plan, ....not sure this is going make any easier!!!.....another tax plan for rip-off britain
The real solution to this global problem is such a "no-brainer" it's a wonder we still have to endure policy-makers thrashing about without even seeing it.
See my comment of 22 March 2011, still valid and applicable in its entirety to this earlier, similar BD Online news post (which was also published in print, if I recall correctly):
http://www.bdonline.co.uk/news/turn-redundant-high-streets-into-housing-says-think-tank/5015213.article
My comment advocates mixed-use rights. Restrictive single-usage dooms areas to 50% efficiency (sometimes less) of property and services and adds the burden of travel and transport to employment and goods. And more. The world cannot afford this waste. Single use zoning has only been enforced for one or two hundred years and the extensive financial and social problems and failures resulting are plainly evident everywhere.
Had restructive single usage been applied to the buildings of Georgian London we would now have no Georgian London, since all those streets and squares of grand houses would not have been adapted to the non-residential uses they now enjoy. And great buildings of all periods would have had to be demolished since they would have outlasted the functions for which they were originally built. I can't understand what all the soul-searching is about here.