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Abstract

The Town and Country Planning Act (TTCPA) (General Permitted Development) Order 2013 amendment came into force on the 30th May 2013. It created temporary Permitted Development Rights (PDR) for change of use of B1(a) (Offices) to C3 (Dwellinghouses). In October 2015, the government announced that the additional rights were to be made permanent as of April 2016 in an effort to solve the perennial housing shortage and to greasy the wheels of the economy in the wake of the great 2008 recession. Since their implementation, the new rights have seen tens of thousands of new residential units brought to the market through the conversion of seemingly vacant/ obsolescent office buildings. Predominantly, literature and industry thus far have homed in on the social ramifications of such office conversions, a lack of statutory control over the quality, size, and other provisions such as light, creating scope for habitable space which are far from habitable.
This research project aims to investigate the wider consequences of the new rights on the secondary office market with emphasis placed upon the loss of office space and the impact upon SME business as viable and economic space is withdrawn from the market and converted to residential usage. Initially this study explores the role/ historical context of PDR’s in the planning system, the driving factors behind the introduction of the B1(a) to C3 PDR’s and touches upon some of the social implications highlighted throughout literature. Latterly, interviews held with industry professionals and a comparative land value case study shed light on the implications to the office market and provides analysis surrounding the use of PDR’s by developers in utilising changes in land value exhibited by the PDR’s. Primary research suggests that although uptake of the PDR’s was initially high, the loss of office space has had a negligible impact on the wider market, instead it was suggested the PDR’s have facilitated the removal of tertiary/ obsolete buildings and has created viability for new development in an environment overcast by little investor confidence and growing build costs. Finally, recommendations have been made as to how the PDR’s may be varied into the future to protect the now balanced office stock from further decline.

Course: Real Estate Manaqement - MSc - P272FTC

Date Deposited: 2020-12-17

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis13632.html