ISSUE#1 ADAPTIVE REUSE HowtoNavigateRecent
U.K.LegislationChanges
Sabina de Jesus,
MEng, CEng, MIStructE Senior Associate
Sabina is an experienced structural engineer who has worked extensively on refurbishment projects in the commercial, education and leisure sectors, from concept through delivery. Her portfolio includes commercial extensions such as Easton Street in Farringdon and the conversion of commercial buildings into leisure facilities, such as Minories in London.
+44 203 900 2923
SDeJesus@ThorntonTomasetti.com
ADAPTIVE REUSE
Issue #1: How to Navigate Recent U.K. Legislation Changes
As we move to a zero carbon economy, the reuse of buildings will increase, and recent legislative changes to encourage building extension are amongst the government’s first steps towards a lower-embodied-carbon construction industry.
A Collaborative Response to Climate Change
Climate Change, Growing Population & the Decline of High Street
The events of 2020 motivated us to rethink our definition of city –what it means now and what it might mean in the future. Everything about how we work; go about our daily lives; and use our surroundings, infrastructure and built environment is changing.
This has accelerated trends that were already affecting society, with climate change, technology, a growing population and e-commerce shaping our lives to the detriment of the high street on a scale that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
Our Thinking
Much of our current building stock performs inadequately to prevent global warming, and technological changes are causing major disruptions in sectors of the built environment, such as retail. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the decline of brick-andmortar retail and compelled office personnel to work remotely, prompting firms to plan enhancements to the functionality of their workplaces to attract employees back.
As some sectors struggle, building stock will be freed up to adapt to market needs, permitting low-value or vacant buildings to be repurposed based on value rather than on the previously narrow Use Class system.
Meanwhile, as we pursue our 2050 commitment to reduction of climate change, building standards will adapt at an unprecedented rate, affecting new and refurbished building stock as we adapt all buildings to support a far lower embodied-carbon future.
This document, the first in a series exploring how such trends will impact the built environment, focuses on engineering opportunities relating to recent planning changes.
Retain & Reuse
Should we demolish and rebuild or retain and reuse? This is a fundamental question at the outset of many projects. The move to zero carbon commitment in construction will increasingly impact this choice as planning authorities encourage the retention of buildings. With this in mind, the U.K. government is prioritising extension over replacement by enacting a series of changes to planning legislation.
Two recent key changes relate to the repurposing of buildings on high street and in town centres:
• Permitted Development
• The new Use Class system
Permitted Development to Rebuild
Where Buildings are Vacant 1
From 31st August 2020
The revised legislation includes a new Permitted Development right allowing the demolition and rebuilding of “vacant and redundant” office and light industrial buildings into dwellings, without planning permission. This right applies when a building has been vacant for more than six months. Buildings must measure less than 1,000 square meters on plan, but replacement buildings may be up to two storeys taller than existing ones, so long as they are less than 18 meters tall. The existing building must be one that was constructed before 1990 and may not be located in a conservation area, national park or a site of special scientific interest.
1 The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Order 2020. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/756/pdfs/uksi_20200756_en.pdf
2 The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 202. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/755/made/data.pdf
3 The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/757/pdfs/uksi_20200757_en.pdf
Climate change is among the factors that will determine how we use our built environment in the future.
Permitted Development to Increase Building Height 2
From 31st August 2020
New Permitted Development rights will enable the upward extension, by up to two storeys, of existing post-war homes. These rights will extend to the creation of new homes above terraces, offices and shops, without requiring planning permission outside of conservation zones.
The Creation of a New Use Class 3
From 1st September 2020
The creation of new Use Classes allows businesses to alter the use of a property without seeking planning permission for changes of use within the same Use Class. Existing buildings that are already used for Class A1, A2, A3 and B1, and certain D1 and D2 uses, will fall within a new single Class E.
As high-street businesses struggle, changes to legislation will allow underused buildings to be repurposed based on value.
Use Classes are as follows:
Class E – commercial, business and service. Includes a variety of uses that are now considered in the same Use Class, including:
• Retail
• Restaurant
• Financial, professional or other commercial services
• Publicly accessible indoor sport, recreation or fitness
• Publicly available medical or health services
• Crèches, day nurseries and day centres
• Offices, including research and development
• Industrial uses which do not harm amenity
Class F1 – learning and non-residential institutions. Includes community-type uses for the general public. For example:
• Schools
• Libraries
• Art galleries
Class F2 – local community facilities.
Includes community-type uses for physical group activities such as:
• Community halls and meeting spaces
• Swimming pools
• Skating rinks
• Areas for outdoor sports
• Rural community local shops
• Residential development local shops
Buildings that do not fall into any particular Use Class are categorised as “sui generis.” The new regulations confirm that certain changes of use in this category are prohibited without planning permission. Building types newly classified as “sui generis” include drinking establishments, hot food takeaway, live-music venues, cinemas, concert halls, bingo halls and dance halls.
