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We’re about to deliver a generation of crap housing unless government heeds the warnings of its own research
The warnings about permitted development rights are loud and clear from planners, housing professionals, architects and even research commissioned by the government. Unless he changes course, England’s housing secretary will be remembered for delivering a generation of crap housing, writes Martin Hilditch
As Robert Jenrick boasted this week about creating “high-quality homes” under reforms designed to expand the number of homes delivered without planning permission, one was left wondering what planet he is on.
It’s certainly tempting to wonder if he has actually read the report – published this week – commissioned by his own department into the quality standard of homes delivered through permitted development rights (PDR).
It would be interesting to know whether the report filled Mr Jenrick with shame. It does make for depressing reading for anyone who believes in the importance of decent housing.
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If you haven’t read the report, you should certainly seek it out. Researchers looked at the impact of PDR in 11 planning authorities. They found that only 22.1% of units (Inside Housing generally avoids using the word units to describe housing but in this case it feels horribly appropriate) created through PDR would meet nationally described space standards.
The very smallest unit was 10sqm, with schemes containing units of 14sqm to 17sqm found across six of the planning authorities. Just pause for a minute to let that sink in – maybe find somewhere soundproof if they make you want to scream.
The report, written and delivered before the latest extensions to PDR were proposed, concludes that “permitted development conversions do seem to create worse-quality residential environments than planning permission conversions in relation to a number of factors widely linked to the health, well-being and quality of life of future occupiers”.
The researchers added that “in terms of the advantages of permitted development, no design or residential quality related positives were reported in any of our case studies”.
It’s these points that prompted a group of organisations, including the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Chartered Institute of Building, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the Royal Town Planning Institute, to write to Mr Jenrick condemning the plans to expand PDR. In that letter they rightly pointed to the impact lockdown has had on people in “poor-quality, overcrowded and badly located homes”.
Inside Housing (as our name might suggest) is enthusiastic about the government’s desire to “build, build, build”, but that must not mean abandoning sensible planning and delivering crap housing.
The additional protections the government has proposed set the bar too low. For starters, Mr Jenrick should listen to the researchers commissioned by his own department.
Martin Hilditch, editor, Inside Housing
*As we hit the summer holiday season, there will be no print issue of Inside Housing next week. All the usual news, views and analysis will be available online
