'Unsatisfactory' flats plan for Shipley town centre can go ahead - here's why

'Permitted Development' laws, which allow developers to convert empty properties into flats without the need for planning permission, mean former shops in Shipley can become flats – despite Council officers saying they would offer a poor standard.

Plans to convert the ground floor of Thomas Duggan House in Shipley into 10 flats was revealed over the Summer.

Shop units, including the town’s former TSB bank, would be converted under the plans by Shipley Properties Ltd.

The proposals were not a planning application – it was a notification that the developer was planning to convert the properties through permitted development.

The empty units the flats will be based in (Image: newsquest)

Introduced by the Conservative Government several years ago, permitted development rules allow developers to convert empty office or retail space into flats without the need for planning permission.

It was an attempt to boost development by cutting red tape, and Councils can only object to the plans if they raise highway concerns or environmental health concerns.

Planning officers said the permitted development rules meant there was no legal way the Council could block the scheme through the planning system. They said: “It has to be said that this is an unsatisfactory proposal proposing too many flats and not optimising standards of outlook and amenity for the future occupiers.

“However, the proposed change of use is permitted development. The ability of the Lo-cal Planning Authority to intervene is therefore very limited.

“The agent has indicated that the applicant will not consider further amendments to this planning submission.

“It will therefore be for other agencies such as Housing Standards to ensure compliance with other legislation.”

They added: “This is an unsatisfactory scheme, achieving poor standards in some of the smaller flats, but it is a proposal which the Local Planning Authority cannot refuse due to limitations of the matters it can consider under the planning legislation that grants permitted development rights.”

They said although there was no parking proposed, the town centre location – and proximity to bus stops and the town’s rail station, meant the flats could not be refused for transport reasons.

Councillor Si Cunningham (Lan, Bolton and Undercliffe) has long criticised permitted development rules.

Hearing of the Shipley application being approved, he said: “The Permitted Development situation remains a massive concern to me, and others. The Government touted it as a quick-fix to sort out ailing high streets and the housing crisis in one cheap swoop, but the reality has been poor quality conversions packed into small spaces.

“An already concerning situation with regard to housing standards, risks being compounded by uncertainty for many tenants."