On the 21st July 2020 Robert Jenrick the Housing Secretary announced changes to planning laws aimed at delivering new homes and regenerating town centres in England.
The changes come into effect in September 2020, and mean unused commercial and retail buildings can be demolished and rebuilt without requiring full planning applications, allowing them to be repurposed helping to revive town centres and communities.
The changes will allow property owners to add two storeys to their houses to create more space or new homes via fast track approval. There will however be a requirement to carefully consider neighbours and the appearance of the building.
The Government hope this will relieve the push to develop greenfield sites whilst providing housing that fits the area. The big aim is also to reduced bureaucracy making the whole process quicker and easier.
It is hoped that the new laws will facilitate a big increase in high quality, well designed green homes whist cutting red tape and protecting standards. Builders will still be required to adhere to the usual building control process.
The Housing Secretary said: Pubs, libraries, village shops and other buildings important to communities are not covered by the new flexibilities, recognising the the importance of protecting community assets.
