Amendments to the GPDO for non domestic premises to be introduced on 6 April
The Government announced on the 16 March that it will be amending the 1995 General Permitted Development Order so as to expand the scope of permitted development for non domestic premises. These proposed changes are to be introduced by The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010 which will be in force on 6 April 2010.
The proposed changes have been widely anticipated as they formed part of the recommendations to the Government by the Killian Pretty Review to help business. The proposed changes to the 1995 Order were then subject to public consultation between July and October 2009.
The principal changes to be introduced by the 2010 amendment order to the GDPO are identified as follows:
- For industry and warehouse developments: To expand existing rights to allow for the construction of new buildings of up to 100 square metres. To extend some of the industry and warehouse rights to research and development uses.
- For schools, colleges, universities and hospitals: To expand existing rights to allow new buildings or extensions to existing institutions of up to 25% of the gross floor space of the original building, or 100 square metres, whichever is the lesser.
- For office buildings: To introduce new rights to allow for extensions to existing office building of up to 25% of the gross floor space of the original building, or 50 square metres, whichever is the lesser.
- For shops and financial and professional services establishments: To introduce new rights to allow extensions for existing shops and financial and professional services establishments of up to 25% of the gross floor space of the original building or 50 square metres, whichever is the lesser.
All of these permitted development rights are subject to certain constraints, designed to minimise impacts on neighbours and the wider environment.
In addition, the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2010 also:
- amends the procedure by which local authorities make local directions restricting permitted development rights, so that the approval of the Secretary of State is no longer required; and
- gives permitted development rights for buildings used as small scale houses in multiple occupation shared by three to six people - Class C4, to be used as dwellinghouses (Class C3), so that specific planning permission is not required. This reflects the Use Classes (Amendment) England Order 2010 introducing the new Use Class C4.
Commenting on the new GDPO, Housing and Planning Minister John Healey considered that these measures will remove around 10,000 planning applications per year and that:
"Taking simpler applications out of the planning system will help councils process major applications faster, and save businesses up to £43m a year. This is in addition to over £120m worth of savings from cutting the amount of information required in planning applications and making planning permissions more flexible. This will give businesses a much needed helping hand during the economic recovery."
There are also further proposed changes in the pipeline to speed up the planning process including the introduction of "prior approval regimes" for shop front alterations and ATMs.
The summary of responses to the Improving Permitted Development consultation, alongside a statement on the way forward, can be viewed at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/improvingdevelopmentsummary
The relevant statutory instruments are also available online at:
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100654_en_1
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100655_en_1
CgMs will be preparing a bulletin in due course giving our commentary on these changes to the GPDO and whether they will help business and hence aid the economic recovery. In the meantime, for further information please contact your usual CgMs contact or either Erica Mortimer or Mike Straw.
