Hackney Council publishes Supplementary Planning Guidance and agrees to remove PD rights

The PD rights allow developers to convert offices, shops, betting offices or shops offering financial services to residential units without the need to obtain planning permission.

Earlier this year, the government extended this temporary PD right with an aim to increase the housing supply across the capital. However, Hackney Council is concerned that such rights are threatening the amenities of the area and argue they need the power to prevent the loss of such uses. The Council also wants to ensure that sufficient land is retained for retail space to protect the presence of independent shops and employment opportunities in the borough's town centres.

This new provision now means that any developer wanting to change the use of a building to a residential dwelling will need to submit a full planning application and cannot benefit from PD rights.

Hackney Council cabinet member for regeneration, Guy Nicholson said: "The government’s proposals make it easier for developers to change the use of buildings on our high streets without seeking planning permission. Converting a high street building from high street uses to unaffordable housing will lead to the decline of our high streets. It is for this reason the council is implementing the Article 4 Directions to ensure that our town centres continue to thrive and prosper into the future as places where we can meet people and do business".

The Council has also published a Sustainable Design and Construction Supplementary planning document for public consultation lasting six weeks.  According to the cabinet meeting notes, this document has been prepared to ensure that "development[s] [are] designed with the appropriate sustainability strategy in place to minimise environmental impacts." The Council argues that developers do not consider sustainability until after the initial design process.

This document is to encourage developers to "frontload sustainability into the design process" and ensure that "sustainable design is incorporated into proposals at an early stage and meets national, regional and local standards".  

Planning expert George Wilson of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "This is not the first Article 4 direction to be proposed by a London borough in respect of these PD rights, nor, we suspect, will it be the last. Whilst central government has been keen to see the PD rights act as a catalyst for new housing, Boroughs have often taken an opposite view."

"The case of Islington last year is interesting to note, where a borough-wide Article 4 direction in respect of office to residential PD right was cancelled by the secretary of state, then revived and modified following a challenge by Islington. The modified direction covered a smaller area than the original proposals, hence why it was seen as more acceptable by the secretary of state," said Wilson. "As such, it will be interesting to see whether the new government takes a close interest in Hackney's borough-wide proposals."