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More hurdles for Basement Development in North London

Consultants, architects, developers and homeowners will recall the landmark Eatherley v LB Camden High Court case as reported in the National press. Mr Justice Cranston ruled against LB Camden who issued a Certificate of Lawfulness for a one storey basement dig. Mr Eatherley's lawyers argued the proposed work included a substantial engineering operation which was not within the permitted development rights. Prior to this, London Boroughs had started to implement Article 4 Dir...

Prior Approval Updates

From the 6th January 2018, 32 locations are set to be subject to an Article 4 Direction preventing the permitted change of use of office floorspace to residential use. They mainly relate to Hounslow's vast array of employment sites. ...

Commercial Article 4 Directions in the London Borough of Richmond

Article 4 Directions can remove the permitted development rights for change of use from B1(a) offices to C3 residential.  Some London Boroughs are using this power to restrict permitted changes of use. In Richmond, most major town centre employment locations are now protected. The list below lists these locations in accordance with the date the Article 4 was implemented. For more specific location maps, you can download the PDF maps from the LB Richmond website.   From 7 July 2016...

Restoring Empty Homes

The Guardian has written another article (Guardian, 20th April 2017) on the empty homes crisis in the UK. The article tables the numbers by value. Unsurprisingly London dwarfs all – primarily because of the average values in the capital. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/apr/20/over-200000-homes-in-england-still-lying-empty-despite-housing-shortages There are more people in the UK needing affordable homes than ever before. In England alone there is an estimated 1,688,892 households...

Office to residential conversions in Kingston

A new Kingston-Upon-Thames Article 4 designation came into effect on 1 October 2015 and any units which have prior approval but have not been occupied by this date, will require planning permission. The Direction affects any building that is currently used as office, or any vacant offices in the following areas: Kingston Town Centre; New Malden District Centre; Surbiton District Centre; Tolworth District Centre; Chessington Industrial Area; Barwell Business Park; St George's Industria...

Retail / Professional Services to Residential Conversions

The latest changes to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 (Schedule 2, Part 3, Class M) incorporate a permanent provision for retail and professional service units to be changed to residential use, with certain limitations. The limitations are summarised below: The proposed building must have been in use as a shop (A1) or professional service (A2) on or before the 20th March 2013. If the unit was vacant on the 20th March, proof will need to be given to confirm the last known use. The...