BRADFORD Council has "no control" over the amount or quality of flats being created in former office buildings through "permitted development" rules.

The planning authority made the claim after a the publication of a Government report that found that flats created through the process were more likely to be cramped, have poor access to natural light and be disconnected from any amenity space.

The Chair of Bradford's Civic Society described the rule as a "pernicious development."

Permitted Development rules introduced by the Government several years ago mean developers do not have to apply for planning permission to convert empty office buildings into residential use.

It was an attempt to boost housing levels and bring empty buildings back into use.

In Bradford permitted development has led to numerous office buildings and warehouses being converted into flats.

The Government has just announced plans to widen the scope of permitted development - allowing developers to turn empty shop units into flats without the need for planning permission.

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But permitted development has proved controversial, with some pointing out how many Bradford developments are made up of small bedsits in these buildings.

Late last month the Government released a report titled "Research into the quality standard of homes delivered through change of use permitted development rights." It looked at the quality of conversions in a number of regions compared to the flats delivered through regular planning applications that went through Councils.

The report found that with the location of many permitted development schemes in commercial or industrial areas of cities, they "usually offered extremely poor locations in terms of residential amenity."

The report adds: "Overall, only 22.1 per cent of dwelling units created through PD would meet the nationally described space standard, compared to 73.4 per cent of units created through full planning permission.

"In many cases, the planning permission units were only slightly below the suggested standard, whereas the PD units were significantly below. There is thus a large quantum of very small units created through permitted development, particular driven by large office-to-residential conversion schemes.

"Further, 68.9 per cent of the units created through PD were studios or one bedrooms compared to 44.1 per cent of the full planning applications units. As previous research has evidenced, smaller unit sizes and a mix of units that might not match local need can cause concern in terms of potential overcrowding and the health and wellbeing of occupiers.

"Given these considerations, we would conclude that permitted development conversions do seem to be more likely to create worse quality residential environments than planning permission conversions in relation to a number of factors vital to the health, wellbeing and quality of life of future occupiers."

Si Cunningham, Chair of Bradford Civic Society, feel permitted development allows developers to "push through plans with very little detail on what the living space will actually be like."

He added: "I’m all for more city centre living – Bradford could be a great location for it – but the proliferation of these cramped, poor quality conversions is really undermining wider regeneration efforts.

"Interestingly the Government has just published a highly critical report into permitted development conversions of this nature. It found that most developments were sub-standard and made little positive contribution to the wider community.

"Based on this, and what we’re seeing in Bradford, I think it’s time for the city council to seriously consider what powers it has to curtail such pernicious development.”

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “Unfortunately we don’t have any control over these kinds of developments, as many of them are permitted development under Government-designed rules.

“This means we don’t have access to the designs to check on their quality.

"The developers also use Approved Inspectors, rather than our Building Control Services, which again excludes us from the process. It also means that we don’t have any enforcement powers to control the quality of such developments.”