Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether, before 13 November, the B1 planning class remained a requirement for offices that also qualified for a residential planning designation.

We announced on 12 October that the permitted development right for the change of use from office to residential will be made permanent. We further announced that the rights will in future provide for an office to be demolished and replaced on a like-for-like basis as residential. The details of the rights including any requirements about the use, eligibility criteria and any matters for prior approval, including in relation to demolition and replacement, will be provided in due course.