Thousands of homes built under office-to-residential permitted development rights could be harmful to the health of their occupants, an exploratory study by the Bartlett School of Planning has indicated.
image for illustration – Open Government Licence v3.0
… Health and wellbeing impacts….were not considered…
The Bartlett School of Planning writes:
‘An exploratory study investigating the health and wellbeing impacts of housing created through permitted development in London.’
[the Executive summary identifies] extensive evidence linking various elements of housing quality with health. The factors influencing housing quality are complex and multifaceted, but certainly include the regulatory processes associated with urban planning. The planning system has been extensively reformed over recent years, particularly in England through the expansion of ‘permitted development’ (PD). This is a form of deregulation whereby certain categories of development no longer require the case-by-case scrutiny of planning permission granted by the local planning authority. Traditionally used for small and temporary development, since 2013 a range of extensions to permitted development rights (PDR) have allowed the conversion of office and other commercial buildings into residential use. Under PD, there is reduced scope and ability for the local planning authority to determine the principle of development or regulate the design (and so quality) of the scheme. Health and wellbeing impacts of this expansion of PD were not considered in the government’s impact assessment when it was introduced.
