The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) has warned once again of the potential harmful effects on the UK’s high streets of the increased use of permitted development rights (PDRs).
Giving oral evidence yesterday to a Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee inquiry, RTPI deputy head of policy ProfessorAude Bicquelet-Lock said controls were necessary to ensure that homes delivered through PDRs did not damage efforts to revitalise town centre economies.
Prof Bicquelet-Lock said: “Regarding the introduction of residential accommodation into town centres, we very much regret that the government did not give enough weight to one of the key recommendations of the HCLG report of February 2019 which flagged the potential harm to high streets and town centres from uncontrolled PDRs.
“There should be controls to ensure that the location of new residential accommodation is not prejudicial to plans to improve or support the town centre’s economy. There are currently no controls to stop residential incursions into what may be regarded as key commercial areas, which could frustrate or contradict plans to refocus commercial activity within a town centre.”
Prof Bicquelet-Lock went on to welcome the recent announcement by the Housing Secretary that all new homes delivered though PDRs will now have to meet national space standards, but said there were still issues to be addressed regarding location and important, connected issues such as noise, pollution and outdoor play space for children.
The invitation to the RTPI speak in front of the Committee follows the submission by the Institute last month of written evidence, which stressed the urgent need to create bespoke, inclusive solutions to support the UK’s high streets during and after the pandemic.
The written submission advocates solutions involving consultation with women, the elderly, teenagers and children.
“While they might be costly and challenging,” it says, “bespoke solutions created as inclusively as possible are likely to be the most effective. Consultation exercises, for instance, should aim to reach groups that may not ordinarily participate.”
The RTPI’s submission concludes that COVID-19 could provide high streets with the opportunity to again become a focus for the exchange of goods, services and ideas as well as social interactions, with ‘resilience, diversity and flexibility’ being the likely key drivers of success.
The RTPI will soon be publishing a research paper entitled Planning for Post-Covid Cities: A Text-Mining analysis of public views on the future of High Streets and Town Centres. The paper is an analysis of online comments, gauging people’s opinions about the problems and solutions facing the UK’s high streets before and during the pandemic.
(1/3) Yesterday, the RTPI's Deputy Head of Policy and Research @AudeLock gave evidence to the @mhclg inquiry examining how high streets can survive the economic and social consequences of #COVID19 #PlantheWorldWeNeed pic.twitter.com/yonzdcqm2d
— Royal Town Planning Institute (@RTPIPlanners) November 3, 2020
