UK looks to build upward with new planning laws
The government will today put forward new planning laws that will make it easier for UK homeowners to add two storeys to their properties in a bid to ease the country’s housing crisis.
Homeowners will be able to add extra storeys through a “fast track approvals process”, while the new laws will also allow developers to demolish unused buildings and rebuild homes in their place without a planning application.
Commercial and retail properties will also be allowed to change into residential properties without a permit as a part of the planning overhaul.
Pubs, libraries and some other shops will be exempt from the changes.
Boris Johnson first laid out some of the government’s plans to alter the UK’s planning system in a speech earlier this month, where he promised to “build, build, build”.
He outlined plans for a £12bn affordable homes programme that will build 180,000 new homes and £400m of funding to be allocated to build properties on brownfield sites in major northern hubs.
“Decade after decade where we have failed to build enough homes,” Johnson said.
Announcing the new laws today, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said: “We are reforming the planning system and cutting out unnecessary bureaucracy to give small business owners the freedom they need to adapt and evolve, and to renew our town centres with new enterprises and more housing.
“These changes will help transform boarded up, unused buildings safely into high quality homes at the heart of their communities.
“It will mean that families can add up to two storeys to their home, providing much needed additional space for children or elderly relatives as their household grows.”