Retail & Town Centres Bulletin

27th July 2021

A weekly email of the latest retail and town centres news, in-depth coverage, key planning decisions & appeals, policy & legislation updates.

Latest Retail & Town Centres News

Cummings suggests government has achieved meaningful planning changes by stealth
The Prime Minister’s former chief of staff Dominic Cummings has claimed that the government last year achieved meaningful changes to the planning system using secondary legislation, which was "barely discussed publicly" so that MPs would not “get over-excited”.

MPs call for government to halt introduction of new commercial-to-residential PD right
The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has called on the government to halt the introduction of its new 'class MA' commercial-to-residential permitted development (PD) right, saying that it would "fatally undermine" the ability of councils to plan their areas.

'Targeted' Article 4 directions and compulsory purchase in government plan to revive high streets

The government has stressed that councils will still be able to use Article 4 directions to block the new commercial-residential permitted development rights "if they are targeted, well-evidenced and apply to the smallest area possible", as part of a new town centres policy document which also includes measures to boost the use of compulsory purchase powers and moves to use the planning system to tackle littering.

Minister says councils can use Article 4 directions to block new PD rights that threaten comprehensive mixed use redevelopment
Minister for regional growth Luke Hall has suggested to MPs that councils will be able to block permitted development (PD) rights to convert traditional town centre uses to housing if they can demonstrate that they would prevent comprehensive mixed use redevelopment.