So whilst planning permission may not be needed for large rear extensions anymore, this is replaced by an alternative ‘prior approval process’ which is by no means straight forward, could potentially take longer, lacks transparency and will have the affect of reducing planning applications fees for already stretched local planning authorities (LPA).

We have attempted to summarise this increasingly complex set of rules governing what does and does not need planning permission, as set out in The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (Amendment) (England) Order 2013, Part 1 of Schedule 2 Class A1 (ea) (Download here: 2013 PD legislation[1] ) which comes into force on 30^th May 2013.

Planning permission is generally* not required for ground floor rear extension which meet all of the following criteria:

• Single storey;
• Less than 4 meters in height;
• Detached dwellings: the extension extends 8 meters or less from the original back wall of the house;
• Semi-detached or terraced dwellings: the extension extends 6 meters or less from the original back wall of the house;
• The cubic content of the resulting extension is less than 50 m3  or 10% of the original dwelling if terraced, or 70 m3 or 15% of the original dwelling elsewhere;
• Is not in a conservation area;
• Is not a flat or an apartment;
• It is built before 30^th May 2016.

If you are intending to build an extension under this amendment, you still need to write to your LPA with details of the proposal. They will then consult your neighbours and if they object, the planning authority has to assess the proposal as they would a planning application. If they object they will require you to submit a planning application in any case.

*All sites are unique and this should be taken as a general guide. If you are planning to build a rear extension then you should always check with your planning consultant or authority prior to commencing building. ECA accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever for others actions as a result of this advice.

Our consultation work includes:

• Design workshops
• Fun days
• Gardening projects
• Exhibitions

We often work with existing local networks and interpreters such as the Parish Council, faith organisations and the Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets. We also use other techniques to complement our face-to-face work, such as producing leaflets, surveys and  children’s design competitions. We have worked with Poole Quays Forum on establishing an on-line discussion forum and PlaceCheck campaign.

1. Change of use from B1(a) office to C3 residential for the next three years. Some councils will be exempt. A prior approval process will be introduced.
2. Redundant agricultural buildings can be converted to ‘other business uses’ for the next three years.
3. Town centre buildings such as shops (A1), financial and professional services (A2), restaurants and cafes (A3) and offices (B1) can be converted to other town centre uses, including community uses, for a temporary two-year period after which they need to revert to their original use.
4. Buildings up to 500 sq meters (up from 235 sq m) in B2 (general industrial) and B8 (storage and distribution) use can be converted to B1 use under permitted development rights.
5. Free Schools can operate for a year within any sort of building before securing planning permission, with the approval process eased to allow them to open in a wider range of buildings on a permanent basis.

Local Planning Authorities are able to apply for an exemption from the order by 22 February 2013, but an exemption will only be allowed in exceptional circumstances. This is at odds with the RTPI’s recent survey, where half of LPAs responding will be seeking to opt out. The new permitted development rights will come into force in Spring 2013.

Pickles said that exemptions would only be granted in “exceptional circumstances”, where local authorities “demonstrate clearly that the introduction of these new permitted development rights in a particular area will lead to the loss of a nationally significant area of economic activity or substantial adverse economic consequences at the local authority level which are not offset by the positive benefits that the new rights would bring”.

The changes will be limited to three years and there will be a “tightly drawn prior approval process” which will cover significant transport and highway impacts, and development in areas of high flood risk, land contamination and safety hazard zones.

The new regulations have the benefit of enabling vacant offices to be converted without the need to provide many of the usual amenities and facilities, such as affordable housing, off-street parking and private amenity space. This will be a real benefit in areas where local authorities have needlessly protected vacant offices and insisted on high levels of affordable housing. Many LPAs are out of touch: the world has moved on and we are unlikely to need so much office space in the future, with an increase in hot-desking, homeworking and the need for reduced overheads.

In reality the new approach may change little as local planning authorities often grant permission for the conversion of redundant buildings, and planning permission will still be needed for the redevelopment of sites where buildings don’t lend themselves to conversion. Whether we will see developers deliberately emptying offices and changing their use within the three-year time limit remains to be seen. What is certain is that the market for non-prime office space is on its knees and residential values are higher.

Here at ECA  the new regulations are already having an impact on our work. We are advising a number of clients on how the new regulations can be used to their benefit.

We are currently working with two Forums: on a Placecheck, public engagement strategy, fun workshops  and consultation events. We are assisting in the preparation of a Neighbourhood Plan by drafting policies which reflect the communities’ aspirations whilst still remaining in accordance with the adopted development plan and extensive existing evidence base.

We recently gave a presentation at the Planning Camp, run by the Eden Project and locality in Bristol, on the lessons learnt so far, as a planning consultancy working in the field. A Forums web site we helped to set up was of particular interest.

At a recent RTPI conference, the DCLG admitted that it has been overwhelmed by the support for neighbourhood planning — they confirmed that there are now 450 communities involved in neighbourhood planning that they know about. They have also announced another round of funding although it is currently unclear how this will be distributed from March 2013 onwards.

The most important boost for Forums yet was announced in January 2013. Forums/ Parishes with an adopted Neighbourhood Plan will be eligible to obtain up to 25% of CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) funds raised in the area to spend on implementing their plan. This is a huge funding boost in regeneration areas in particular.

The need for more housing still remains an “exceptional circumstance” and is enabling  housing to be built across the green belt where the local authority cannot demonstrate a five-year housing land supply.  The NPPF’s scaled down version of green belt policies contains some fundamental omissions which are fuelling the green belt debate in various policy areas. For example, a recent appeal decision for a proposed cemetery suggests that the change of use of land in the green belt to a cemetery should not be allowed, despite essential facilities including chapels for cemeteries in the green belt being specifically named and given the green light.  Surely the two go hand in hand and both should be assessed in accordance with the normal green belt criteria, namely impact on open character etc.

The green belt debate continues to rage in many communities in 2013 as local planning authorities race to update development plans. Our work is proof that many green belt boundaries are being amended to make way for much needed housing development.

The DCLG’s annual publication of green belt  stats confirms that green belt campaigners have little to be worried about. Whilst there was an overall loss of 130 hectares of green belt land in 2011/2012, this represents a decrease of less than 0.01% in the total green belt area. A staggering 13% of the land area of England continues to be protected by the green belt.

An inspector has allowed an appeal for 130 houses on a greenfield site in Devon, on the grounds that there was a housing supply shortfall in the district as a whole and that the scheme would not prejudice the review of the local plan.

What is of interest in this case is that the appellants were able to successfully argue that account needs to be taken of housing supply in the district as a whole, even though the Council could demonstrate that there was no need at a localized level.

The Council had relied on disaggregated calculations of housing land supply, since this demonstrated a good level of future housing provision. However even if this were assumed to be the correct policy approach, the inspector noted that the calculation should normally be applied to the whole of the district. In his view, and adopting the district as a whole, there was an urgent need to deliver more housing, including additional affordable units.

The inspector also clarified that the loss of 4 ha out of an 82 ha agricultural holding was justified, as it does not constitute a “significant” development in the overall context of the agricultural holding and the NPPF.

ECA are currently monitoring eight separate Development Plans on behalf of clients with significant land holdings in the southeast and southwest of England. ECA are well versed in housing land supply issues.

ECA

We spoke of how RIBA is set up and what we are doing in this area. We spoke of the events, the strategic help and the ways in which RIBA influences policy in the region. We have attached to this blog a transcript of the talk.

A key part of the presentation was the launch of an event that will form part of the Love Architecture festival next summer. We will be helping to organise an evening focused around structures and installations on Poole Quay, in Dorset,  set in the last week of June 2013. The structures will also be designed to be scalable in various ways. They will be walked through, climbed over and skated upon. It is an evening for debate about how the urban landscape is perceived and used by all types of pedestrian,  skater, lounger and free runner alike. We will have local skateboarders attempting to negotiate them in various ways. There will also be projections on buildings, inflatable structures and tents with architectural models and images. The initial brief for this project is attached to this blog.

We welcome any comments and suggestions for this event

LovearchitecturePoole QuaySummeryDraft

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The document lacks sufficient detail to assess any firm proposals at the moment. The beaches are a great asset to this area but the hard landscape and facilities are generally poor: outdated and outmoded and reminiscent of 1960′s solutions that dominate too many public places in this area (car parks and a preponderance of tarmac). The toilets are just about unusable (consequently often not used, hence most of the areas around and behind the huts are pretty repellent too). The promenade itself is an often unhappy mix of cyclists, dogs and walkers. Much more could be done. Hinted at in the document is the controversial notion that improvements could be partly funded through carefully placed development zones – this needs much scrutiny. Sadly many of the key locations for past new buildings such as the Poole Quays/Dolphin Quay development and Bournemouth beach front’s Imax, have proved woefully underwhelming examples of positive additions to these areas.

At the moment most of the beaches back onto large car parks that are underused for most of the year and completely overwhelmed on warm summer weekends. Reaching the beaches by bicycle is fraught with danger and difficulty as many are accessed along the Sandbanks Road/Shore Road route. This wide road provides no protection for cyclists. It employs a lane between parked and moving  cars. It is not dissimilar to the cycle lane that previously existed on Blackfriars Bridge in London that resulted in two cyclists being tragically killed. The beaches will dramatically improve if access to them is improved in tandem. All the beaches are relatively near excellent transport links with trains running along the length of Poole Bay.

With the provision of alternatively powered shuttle services and much improved pedestrian and cycle links to the coast, the whole area will thrive in the 21st century. This does not just mean the beaches but the areas along Shore Road such as the windsurfing locations at the bottom of Haven Road. These areas are choked by traffic but could become more of a focus for kiteboarding and windsurfing with an an array of kiosks, surf shacks, cafes etc. along this shore. It just needs intelligent planning of shared surfaces for many types of user. We wait with bated breath for developments in these critical masterplans.