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PUBLISHED ARTICLES

How to Get PD on Buildings 'Outside Use Class E'

Class MA prior approval (PA) rights have become a popular route to adding value, once a building (or part of one) has been clearly established to fall within Use Class E (commercial and business use).  It is much quicker or more straightforward than full planning permission, although still has its limits and complexities.

However, many opportunities for development may seem to be out of the reach of this strategy at first glance, as some sites might not appear to be in Use Class E, such as some pubs, workshops or warehouses with large office components.

These sites provide great opportunities for adding value through Class MA rights as they will often put off those that want to deal only with buildings that are more clearly within Use Class E, as long as it can be proven they fall within Use Class E.  This could lead to a greater willingness on the vendor’s part to do a deal, or to negotiate on the price or other terms of the deal, such as the timescales for exchange or completion.

This article draws on our recent experience under Class MA and its predecessor, Class O (B1(a) offices to C3 residential use) and considers the essentials for this advanced niche strategy.

Converting pubs to residential use

In July, we looked at generally the issues that can arise when looking at pub conversions to residential use.  Despite a brief break last month, when we digressed to consider some of the new changes to permitted development rights (none involving pubs, I hasten to add), we now move back this month to consider the subject of pub conversions, looking in particular at a recent case study.

New Opportunities For Permitted Development

On the 24th July 2023, Michael Gove MP announced a series of proposed reforms and initiatives aimed at delivering more housing, boosting the economy and reforming the planning system.

These initiatives include new allocations from the £1.5 billion Brownfield, Infrastructure and Land Fund toward further funding in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and more funding toward Homes England.  Cambridge is also targeted as the Government seeks to enable more housing, infrastructure and high-end tech employment in this city to raise its status as ‘Europe’s science capital’.

However, at the heart of the proposed reforms in the current White Paper are the proposed changes to permitted development and prior approval, to introduce greater flexibility and relaxation in the planning system, and speed up the delivery of additional homes in towns, cities and rural areas.

Public Houses and Planning Opportunity

Public houses can still provide a great opportunity for residential development, such as for flats or for HMOs and can provide an opportunity for tired vendors and publicans to ‘retire’ from the burdens and commitments involved in running a pub, when in many cases it is no longer viable.

We recently helped a client to obtain planning permission to change the use of a public house to self-contained flats and this article explores the principal issues we encountered in the planning process along the way.

This month’s article is focused more on some of the higher level issues relating to change of use, opportunities for extension and conversion and heritage factors.  Next month will be concerned with a closer look at the residential amenity and challenges facing the plan layout that we encountered in the case of our recent win.

Negotiating Profitable Exits in Planning Applications

It can be very easy to become fixed on a design or wedded to a particular outcome in planning applications. Much time (and money) will be spent by the client on producing a design that everyone is invested in.  The need to make a level of return also for the bank or for investors also can create a degree of either ‘emotional’ or ‘economic’ inertia around scheme.

However, when the planners start ‘poking and prodding’ at the proposals and placing constraints on the scheme, pushing back on the proposed size for instance, then it is very easy to lose sight of the desired outcome.

“Income is vanity, profit is vanity” is a phrase well worth remembering in such situations.

This month we look at this key issue and some other useful lessons from a recently successful application to redevelop a site of a pair of semi-detached houses with a block of 9 flats in Croydon.

Article 4 & Prior Approval: Racing Against Time!

In this month’s article, we look at a recent approval in which we obtained Class MA Prior Approval in the London Borough of Hackney, with an Article 4 Direction due to come in and challenges that we faced that almost prevented a successful outcome, and a few tips for readers as to how you can overcome similar challenges in these situations.

This deeper dive into a recent real case study will reveal potential pitfalls to these applications that required a highly reactive and ‘creative’ response to the challenges that were thrown up.

Reviewing Permitted Development Rights

In 2021, the Government made several significant changes to the permitted development regime, opening up the prospect of new permitted development (PD) rights, especially through the introduction of Class MA which permits the movement from commercial uses under Use Class E to self-contained residential use.  Changes were made to existing PD rights in response to some use classes moving out of the former ‘retail’ use class and into sui generis (e.g. takeaways, public houses).  Changes were also made to Class G prior approval rights.

This month we briefly revisit some of these changes and flag up principal planning and practical challenges to securing such rights.

Residential Approval in Article 4 Areas and Avoiding CIL

PD and prior approval rights to change from commercial to residential use are widely-known about in the property industry, certainly much more so than in 2013, when first introduced.  Although there are still many opportunities that might financially stack on this basis, a lot of sites do not as vendors already price-in the ‘hope value’ to their asking prices.

The need to obtain full planning in some cases for a change of use does put off a lot of SME developers who would rather stick to PD or prior approval strategies, and this in turn creates more opportunity for those developers ‘in the know’ and prepared to take on these challenges to unlock their potential.

We recently obtained full planning permission in just such a case for Leufroy, an experienced developer, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) to convert roughly 3,500 sqft of secondary office space on the upper floors of a building in Notting Hill Gate to 4no self-contained high-end apartments.

Getting Class MA Permitted Development Applications

Class MA permitted development applications are often seen as an ‘easy win’ by many developers.  However, this route to obtaining consent for commercial to residential development is often grossly underestimated and is not as straightforward as is often believed to be.

Planning authorities have become increasingly knowledgeable of these permitted development rights and poorly prepared or complacent applications will be susceptible to refusal, often costing developers and investors time and opportunity.

This article looks at the most common ‘bear traps’ that we have experienced in the last couple of years whilst this permitted development right has been running.

All references to Class MA in this article are to the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 2015 as of 7th February 2023.

Serviced Accommodation & Planning Use Classes

The area of serviced accommodation has been an attractive and innovative area for developers and investors for many years, often being a catalyst for bespoke property education courses focussing on this sector.

However, it has often thrown up confusion and conflicting advice to those believing that it is straightforward in planning terms and flexible, no matter what your intended business model or property set-up.

This month, we will take a look at a few of the cases around this area to highlight some of the key issues and reflect on some practical considerations.  This is not intended to be an exhaustive review of all of the key case law or planning appeal decisions, and planning or legal advice should be sought in any specific case if in doubt, especially to avoid the possibility of planning enforcement action at a later date, the forfeiture of a lease or breach of finance terms.

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