Following Nick Boles’ Ministerial Statement on 10 July, the official Secretary of State direction, which quashes Islington’s Article 4 Direction restricting office to residential conversions under Class J of the GPDO amendment (2013), was published last week. The direction is short and to the point, simply confirming that the Secretary of State has directed that the Article 4 Direction be cancelled, in accordance with article 5 (18) of the 1995 order.
Islington’s Article 4 Direction sought a blanket approach to removing Class J permitted development rights across the Borough; a move that was deemed “disproportionate” by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
Looking forward, how will this decision influence the proposed Article 4 Directions for other Local Authorities? Richmond, Harrogate, Watford and Epsom & Ewell are among those currently proposing directions which would remove permitted development rights for office to residential within parts of their respective boroughs.
With the DCLG potentially looking to extend Class J beyond May 2016, authorities proposing Article 4 Directions will need to ensure that there is particularly strong justification to withdraw the PD rights and that the direction meets tests set out in National Policy and Guidance, to be successful.
The area of Richmond’s proposed direction is fairly extensive, with both Richmond and Twickenham town centres included. By way of the Islington decision, the DCLG will need to consider that the direction for Richmond is proportionate and necessary in light of National Policy, to allow to the direction to come into force on 30 November 2014.
Harrogate and Epsom & Ewell are proposing Article 4 Directions on a much smaller scale, which will likely prove easier to justify in light of national policy.