Have your say on plans to protect economic sites
People are invited to give their views on steps being taken to protect key economic sites in Daventry District.
National legislation allows buildings used as offices to be converted into homes without the need to obtain planning permission, under what is known as a permitted development right.
It was brought in by the government in 2013 to help developers convert empty office space for residential use, in order to boost house building.
However Daventry District Council (DDC) wants to prevent that from happening in a number of important economic areas, through the introduction of an Article 4 Direction removing the permitted development right.
The Direction applies to ‘Strategic Employment Areas’ designated in Brixworth, Crick, Woodford, and the Drayton Fields, Royal Oak and Marches industrial estates in Daventry, as well as to Daventry town centre.
The Strategic Employment Areas were designated in the Council’s newly-adopted Part 2 Settlements and Countryside Local Plan, as sites where it is felt industrial and commercial space should be protected and encouraged.
The Local Plan also seeks to create a vibrant town centre in Daventry, and it is felt the loss of office space in that area could affect that. A range of more suitable sites for new housing in Daventry District are identified in the Local Plan as well as in the West Northamptonshire Joint Core Strategy.
The Direction is classified as ‘non-immediate’, meaning it cannot come into force for 12 months. It is also subject to a six-week consultation period to allow people - including those whose properties are affected – a chance to give their views.
The deadline for comments is 5pm on Tuesday 7 April.
More information and details of how to comment can be found at www.daventrydc.gov.uk/consultation
Hard copies of the Article 4 Direction can also be viewed at the Council’s offices on Lodge Road, Daventry, and at libraries throughout the District.