New planning rules ‘could blight high streets with empty pubs’
Angela Rayner’s attempt to stop pubs being redeveloped into offices and housing could “blight high streets” with empty venues, property experts have warned.
The housing secretary has unveiled reforms to planning rules which mean that developers can only turn a pub into housing or an office if there is no reasonable prospect that it can continue running.
The new rules, set out in the updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), also require developers to provide proof that the pub has been listed for sale for at least 12 months.
But Real Estate UK, which represents the country’s property investors and developers, has warned that these new rules could backfire.
Forcing developers to wait for pubs to be on the market for a year could burden town centres with empty pubs, warned Real Estate UK policy director Ion Fletcher.
He said: “A blanket 12-month ban on redevelopment means pubs that have fallen empty or into disrepair could blight high streets and town centres and delay the delivery of homes and the amenities communities need.
“Developers don’t close pubs, unsustainable costs close pubs, even where there is community support.”
Other property experts warned that burdening local communities with more signs of closure and decay could undermine Andy Burnham’s efforts to rejuvenate Britain’s high streets.
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Nick Leavey, a property lawyer at Morr & Co, said: “These proposals could have the unintended consequence of turning struggling pubs into stranded assets.
“If a pub is no longer commercially viable but the owner cannot readily sell or redevelop it for another use, you risk being left with an empty building rather than a thriving community pub.”
James Clark, a head of planning at law firm Foot Anstey, said developers may also argue that this 12-month requirement risks “delaying regeneration projects when there is little realistic prospect of a facility returning to its former use”.
Hospitality figures welcomed the government’s attempt to protect pubs, but warned that recent tax hikes – like business rates and national insurance – are posing more of a burden to the industry.
Allen Simpson, chief executive of UK Hospitality, said: “Anything that makes it harder to take these important assets away from their communities has to be welcomed, but the government should focus on continuing its strong start on fixing the harm done to hospitality over the past two years.”
A government spokesperson said: “We’re strengthening protections for pubs by making it far tougher to close them or convert them into other uses.
“We’re also backing the hospitality sector with a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, a tax break on poured pints and a cap on corporation tax.”