Friday, 12 July 2013

Council Slams Offices into Flats

Islington Council is trying to overturn government plans to turn empty office space into flats and to ease the proliferation of high street payday loan firms and betting shops. The council has now made an Article 4 direction to effectively overturn some of the permitted development rights introduced by the government in May. Under the revised General Permitted Development Order, residents and councils are powerless to object to, prevent, or impose conditions on certain types of development including:
*The change of existing shops, dentists, pubs and other uses over to a betting shop or pay day loan business.
*The change of any office building into housing.

Neither of these types of conversion now require planning permission, meaning, says the council, that "residents' rights to be notified in advance and to raise any objection are swept away".  Read more on 24dash.

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