But new planning rules due to come into effect this summer could help stop communities being “hollowed out”.
Re-purposing unused buildings to create a new income stream is a very popular option for farmers, but it can undoubtedly have a serious detrimental impact on local housing supply. Secretary of State for Levelling Up Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, said the details of the changes would be set out in the Government’s formal response to the consultations, with implementation likely to be from this summer.
If you’re in an area where the number of holiday lets is severely restricting the supply of affordable homes for local people though, you might find that your Local Authority introduce what’s called an Article 4 Direction – in such cases, the permitted development rights would be withdrawn, and where permission is being sought for new holiday-let or ordinary dwellings, conditions may well be imposed on the grant of planning permission limiting the ability to switch between the two use classes;...