Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect on the availability of business premises of permitted development rules allowing offices to be converted into housing.

The permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential is making an important contribution to the delivery of new homes across the country. In the three years to March 2018, over 42,000 homes to buy or to rent have been delivered under the right.

Where it is felt that it is necessary to protect the local amenity or wellbeing of an area, the local planning authority can consult the local community on removing a permitted development right by making an Article 4 direction. This requires that a planning application must be submitted which the local planning authority can determine in accordance with its local plan.