While permitted development rights may have been lauded as a potential boost to housing numbers, they do not always work in favour of positive property development.
Since 2013, office-to-residential conversions and industrial-to-housing developments have been allowed without the bother of planning permission, with some conditions.
If you add in the fact that the notifications to the council cost as little as £80, with no limit on the number that can be made and a time limit that often works in favour of developers (see Against the clock, below), it can add up to irresistible pressure for smaller and smaller homes.
An industrial estate site in Stamford Hill, N15, had a permitted development notification for change of use from storage to residential in the middle of an industrial estate. The entrance to the development (pictured above) does not show the actual building 100 yards or so round the corner.
So far, three notifications have come in for the site from developer Triplerose. The first, in September last year for seven units, was refused owing to insufficient information being submitted by the applicant. Undeterred, another, again for seven units, was submitted a few months later, and this time was allowed through.
Being a bit braver, another application was submitted for 10 units within the same space. Again, it was refused owing to lack of information. And last week another came forward, this time for 15 homes.
The double height is currently used as storage. A mezzanine level will be created for 15 homes on the upper floor, leaving the ground floor to continue as storage space. With the precedent already set and planning in place for the seven-unit scheme, it is hard to see how the 15-unit proposal will not be granted consent too, unless it is missing information.
Against the clock
Southwark Council was forced to allow the conversion of two railway arches from storage use into residential after missing a 56-day deadline to decide whether the scheme met permitted development criteria.
When the 56-day deadline is missed, the application is deemed to be approved. This can allow developers to gain approval by flooding a local authority with permitted development notifications and hoping for the best.
Southwark was not satisfied that the arches had been in storage use and is now consulting on closing the railway arch loophole.
There are 800 arches in the borough.
Lofty ambitions in east London
The Olympic legacy has had a huge impact on Stratford, E20, with many schemes now coming out the ground.
Manhattan Loft Gardens will probably be one of the standout buildings in years to come. The development is around 30 storeys, eventually rising to 42. Designed by SOM, the Manhattan Loft Corporation-owned building will provide 248 flats.
Two things stand out: the cladding and the two triple-height cantilevered roof gardens. The views, especially from the higher roof garden, will be pretty spectacular. According to the London Evening Standard, the penthouse, priced at £10m, was recently sold.
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