Build, Build, Build

Class MA New Permitted Development Rights: Commercial property to residential: A government initiative to support housing delivery, economic recovery and high street regeneration.

To deliver on the Government’s commitment to support mixed and flexible high streets, stimulate economic recovery in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and deliver additional homes more easily, Government is now enabling such premises to benefit from a permitted development right to deliver additional new homes.

This meets the commitment in the 30 June 2020 ‘Build, Build, Build’ press statement that “A wider range of commercial buildings will be allowed to change to residential use without the need for a planning application”.

Mr.Christopher Pincher, Minister of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 31 March 2021 announced The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development etc.) (England) (Amendment) Order 2021 which came into force on 21st April 2021.

This Order extends to England and Wales.This Order introduces a new permitted development right to allow for the change of use from the Commercial, Business and Service use (Class E) to residential use (Class C3).This Order amends the General Permitted Development Order which grants planning permission for a range of specific classes of development, subject to certain limitations and conditions.

Planning permission granted under the General Permitted Development Order is known as a “permitted development right”. The effect is that an application for planning permission does not need to be made to the local planning authority, where a permitted development right applies, although in some cases permitted development rights require the local planning authority to approve certain key planning matters before development can proceed. This is known as “prior approval”

This Order amends the General Permitted Development Order as follows: New permitted development right to change use from the Commercial, Business and Service use class to residential use.

Article 6 of this Order introduces a new permitted development right to allow for the change of use from the Commercial, Business and Service use class (Class E) to residential use (Class C3). This will support housing delivery, economic recovery and high street regeneration.

The Class MA right will provide for the change of use from any use within the Commercial, Business and Service use class (E) to residential (class C3) use.

In order to prevent gaming, the building must have been in Commercial, Business and Service use for two years before benefiting from the right. As the use class has not long been in place, time served in the uses in former use classes now within the Commercial Business and Service use class, such as A1 (shops), and D1 (b) (non-residential institutions – crèche, day nursery or day centre), will count towards this period.

To protect successful businesses, the right will require the building to have been vacant for three continuous months immediately before the date of application for prior approval. The time that the premises is closed as a result of Government Covid-19 restrictions will not count towards this period where the building continues to be occupied by the owner or tenant. No more than 1,500 sq m of floorspace in any building may change use. Part of the building may change use under the right, including where the lower floors are in Commercial, Business and Service use and the upper floors residential. The right will apply in Conservation Areas, but not in other land listed in Article 2(3) of the General Permitted Development Order, such as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty