Councils, social landlords and charities call for scrapping of permitted development rights

The letter - signed by 39 organisations including Shelter, the National Housing Federation, the Town and Country Planning Association, the Royal Town Planning Institute and the G15 group of large social landlords - warns that homes created through PDR are “more likely to be sub-standard, smaller, darker, poorly ventilated and in unsuitable locations such as industrial estates and business parks”.

It adds that many would not meet “the most basic” fire safety and habitability standards had they been subject to the planning process.

New analysis by the LGA meanwhile claims that just shy of 28,000 affordable homes have not been delivered due to office-to-residential conversions under PDR in the past 11 years.

However, an amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which is making its way through Parliament, could halt this trend by removing a raft of PDR, the LGA said. 

The open letter to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, calls on the Government to support the amendment introduced by Baroness Thornhill, and formally adopt it into the Bill.

The letter states: “PDR undermines strategic planning, hollows out high streets, and strips developments of the Section 106 agreements that support vital infrastructure. The Government’s ambition for high-quality, well-designed and sustainable housing cannot be met while a significant share is delivered outside proper oversight. 

“Ending unfettered permitted development rights would not halt development. It would restore fairness, local accountability, and public trust in the planning system. It would ensure that the homes built today are not the poor-quality housing problems of tomorrow.”

It adds: “We urge the Government to support Baroness Thornhill’s amendment to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, removing a raft of PDR. This would restore local democratic oversight, require developers to contribute fairly to affordable housing and infrastructure, and ensure new homes meet decent quality standards, a decisive step towards tackling the housing crisis, reducing temporary accommodation, and delivering the homes the country urgently needs.”

Baroness Thornhill, who is a Vice President of the LGA and brought the amendment, said: “The impact of certain PDR rules has gone much further than was ever anticipated when they were first bought in, it is time they were scrapped.

“Councils – and communities – are losing out significantly because developers are able to circumvent the democratic planning process.

“Making this change could mean better quality development, which has the benefit of proper oversight and consideration, and helps bring forward much needed affordable housing.”

Additional signatories to the open letter will be accepted until 15 September 2025.

Lottie Winson