LOCAL Conservatives have welcomed plans to make it easier for developers to convert empty shops into flats without planning permission.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove recently announced plans for reforms of planning regulations, including changes to permitted development rights to encourage the conversion of inner-city shops, offices, takeaways and betting shops into new homes without the need for planning permission.

Councillor Bob Felstead, Conservative spokesman for regeneration, planning and transport in Bradford said: “While Britain needs more homes they must be of the right type and targeted in the right places, which means we must build more in the places where there is most demand, which in Bradford is the city and urban areas.”

He said Bradford Council’s Local Development Plan included the building of thousands of homes on Green Belt sites “despite there being little demand for large, expensive rural houses, whilst there is huge undersupply of smaller affordable homes and apartments in the city centre".

He added: “It is notable that in vibrant cities throughout Europe, the shops all have two or three floors of accommodation above them, rather than the two or three floors of dereliction common in struggling British city centres such as Bradford.

“New proposals, if utilised effectively by the Council, could bring these back into use to provide the type and location of homes which are required, whilst also providing more customer footfall for the city centre.”