Permitted development changes: what do we need to know about buying a kebab shop under newly relaxed planning permission rules?

We'd like to buy a vacant kebab shop under the Government's newly relaxed permitted development rules. What do we need to consider before we make enquiries?
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Selwyn Atkinson4 June 2019

Question: We are a youngish couple living in south London. We have been paying rent for several years but feel the time has come to buy a home of our own.

We have heard that the Government will be relaxing permitted development rules, which would allow takeaway shops to be turned into homes without the need for planning permission, and it has given us an idea.

We have just seen a vacant kebab shop for sale and I want to know, is there anything that we must first consider before we make detailed enquiries?

Answer: The Government’s 2019 amendment to the General Permitted Development Order 2015 came into force over the weekend. This amendment bolsters existing permitted development rights that allow homeowners to make certain home improvements without getting planning permission first.

You are correct to point out that the new rules now allow for the conversion of a “Class M” hot food takeaway to a home without having to get planning permission. But there are some conditions and other factors that you will need to consider.

For a start, you can’t just do as you please. You need to lodge a Notification for Prior Approval with your local council to ensure that your project qualifies.

The takeaway will not be eligible for conversion under Class M if it has been listed by Historic England, for example, or if it is in a conservation area, or if there are any local planning rules that restrict permitted development.

You will also need to search the planning history for the address to ensure that there are no existing conditions precluding conversion to another use.

Your local council should be able to advise if there are any such special restrictions. And the takeaway should not have an internal floor area greater than 150 square metres.

Your Notification for Prior Approval should be made to the council which will review the merits of your application using a set of criteria that cover: the impacts of the conversion on the highways; contamination risks and flood risk to future occupiers; the external appearance of the building and finally, the impact on the availability and diversity of shopping and other facilities following conversion.

Whereas councils usually resist the loss of retail shops and other important services from local shopping parades, high streets and town centres, the proliferation of fast-food takeaways in recent years and their impact on rising rates of obesity, particularly among schoolchildren, and the associated noise nuisance to nearby residents have led to Londonwide tougher policies on new takeaways.

Once adopted, the new London Plan — London’s Spatial Development Strategy — will require boroughs to refuse planning permission for new takeaways where they are located within 400 metres of a school, or where a new outlet would result in an over concentration of fast-food shops.

Many London boroughs have already adopted their own restrictive policies.

I would advise you to check to see if your potential purchase is located within a residential area or close to a school, but not within a main town centre or high street, as these are good indicators as to whether your council would be supportive of its conversion to a residential dwelling.

Selwyn Atkinson is an associate town planner at Ingleton Wood LLP (selwyn.atkinson@ingletonwood.co.uk)