Issue - meetings

Issue of Article 4 Direction covering the most strategically important office sites in the Borough for public consultation.

(1)     An Article 4 Direction covering the most strategically important office sites in the Borough was issued for a six week public consultation which would remove permitted development rights that currently allowed the change of use of B1 office buildings to C3 residential use without the need for planning permission and instead protect those sites for on-going employment use on the basis that they would only be allowed to be converted to residential use if they secured planning permission from the Council or the Planning Inspectorate via appeal.

(2)     The results of the consultation process would be reported back to the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel with the aim that the Article 4 Direction was recommended to the Cabinet for adoption once a period of twelve months had passed to allow any compensation claims to fall away.

The Panel had considered the issue of an Article 4 Direction covering the most strategically important office sites in the Borough for public consultation.

The Borough had lost a significant amount of office space in recent years, particularly due to permitted development rights. Permitted development had delivered housing, but there was concern that the tipping point had been reached.

The Local Plan sought to achieve a balance between homes and jobs and an Article 4 Direction would remove permitted development rights for offices to become flats.

It was proposed to apply the Article to the most important employment areas:-

•    Welwyn Garden City employment area

•    Hatfield Business Park

•    Beaconsfield Road and Great North Road, Hatfield

•    Sopers Road Industrial Estate, Cuffley

Owners would need to apply for planning permission and become subject to Section 106 requests for affordable housing, education and healthcare etc.

Following discussion the Panel had recommended that the Direction come into force after one year in accordance with the Town and Country Planning (Compensation) Regulations to allow any claims to fall away.

Officers had reported that the level of compensation was unknown and not possible to quantify but the risk was considered to be real.

RESOLVED:

(1)       That an Article 4 Direction covering the most strategically important office sites in the Borough be issued for a six week public consultation which would remove permitted development rights that currently allowed the change of use of B1 office buildings to C3 residential use without the need for planning permission and instead protect those sites for on-going employment use on the basis that they would only be allowed to be converted to residential use if they secured planning permission from the Council or the Planning Inspectorate via appeal.

(2)     That the results of the consultation process be reported back to the Cabinet Planning and Parking Panel with the aim that the Article 4 Direction be recommended to the Cabinet for adoption once a period of twelve months had passed to allow any compensation claims to fall away.

Report of the Corporate Director (Planning, Public Protection and Governance) on the issue of Article 4 Direction covering the most strategically important office sites in the Borough for public consultation.

Report of the Corporate Director (Planning, Public Protection and Governance) on Article 4 Direction (A4D) – employment sites.  In recent years, a significant amount of office space within the Borough has been lost through permitted development rights which has enabled this space to be converted to residential uses without the need for planning permission. This has caused a significant reduction in the supply of available space for local businesses.

Article 4 Directions enable local authorities to remove permitted development rights, which means that if any such development is proposed, planning permission must be applied for in the normal way.

It is proposed that an Article 4 Direction is produced which would remove these permitted development rights for the four most important employment sites in the Borough, so that any loss of office space could be controlled by the Council.

The legislative basis for this is Article 4 of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development Order) 1995 as amended. Paragraph 53 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) says that Article 4 Directions “should be limited to situations where this is necessary to protect local amenity or the well-being of the area”. There is significant concern that in this instance that permitted development rights will harm local amenity and the proper planning of the area and that it is necessary to extinguish them in order to protect local amenity and wellbeing.

Both Hertfordshire County Council and the Ministry of Homes Communities and Local Government are consultees to any such proposal and would be notified upon any adoption.

Members raised and discussed the following points:

·         Difficult for estate agents to show properties to prospective businesses wishing to move or expand within the Borough.  This concern has been shared on a county-wide basis by Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) who have undertaken a study to investigate the issue across the County and the impact and what can be done to address the problems.

·         Total stock of office space in the Borough has been reduced by 28%, part of this has been lost to residential uses.  Concern was expressed in respect of office blocks being converted to flats.

·         Legal implications in terms of compensation claims.  There is a potential risk of claims being made against the Council for the loss or damage directly attributed to the extinguishment of permitted development rights but no compensation would be payable if the A4D is consulted upon not less than 12 months before coming into force.  Consideration was given to reducing the time period to 6 months; this would not accord with legislation and would leave the Council open to challenges/claims; therefore not recommended by Officers.

Members considered the effects of Article 4 Direction, a planning application may be required for development that would otherwise have been permitted development. It was proposed that an Article 4 Direction to restrict Permitted Development rights which permit the change of use from B1 to residential (C3) be consulted upon to cover the following sites:

-       Welwyn Garden City employment  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14