Looser permitted development rules

In the October budget, Chancellor Philip Hammond revealed changes to planning rules. The aim is to reduce the red tape and therefore allow more housing development. The looser PDR rules could have a positive effect on the supply of new homes. It could also have an impact on the residential architecture London is home to.The big change to permitted development rights would be allowing people to build on rooftops without the usual permission. This would apply to commercial buildings as well as blocks of apartments or flats. It could open the door for thousands of new homes.In addition the consultation looks at allowing the demolition of more commercial buildings to create housing. This could be very useful in areas with lots of empty shops and offices.

Quality

The policy wants to make it easier to bring forward quality homes with great designs. These properties could enhance the streets in areas and also make more effective use of land. While it would increase density it would preserve green spaces and gardens in built up areas.

Reports

The plans to loosen the PDRs have great support. Many of them are based on reports like Create Streets and Policy Exchange. They look at how the UK tends to have low density in urban areas. Projects to build up or convert more buildings would have an impact but not cause this to reach unsustainable levels.

Oversight

Current RIBA president Ben Derbyshire spoke about the changes. He talked about how import good design is, especially in light of some poor quality office conversions. Proper oversight is wise to prevent this and ensure that designs are great.Coffey Architects appreciates the impact that looser PDRs could have on the residential architecture London has. It may allow more projects and great designs. More importantly, it could allow more old buildings to become new community facilities as well as homes.If you are thinking about a project please contact us. We are happy to offer advice and can discuss development rights with you.