New construction ministry opposes permitted development rights

Working across two departments, Sarah Jones has been appointed minister of state at the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero and at the Department for Business & Trade, with responsibility for Construction.

It is assumed that if the Construction Leadership Council is retained in its current form by the new government, Sarah Jones will be its new co-chair from the government side.

Where she might differ in her outlook from most of the council is in her opposition to permitted development rights – a policy designed to encourage the development of new housing unfettered by planning constraints.

Not only is she against permitted development rights, she does not like “unsavory” people making money.

In a debate in the House of Commons on 13^th February 2020 she said: “Permitted development is a symptom of the way the housing system has broken. The principle of making it easier to build housing is clear but the consequences since its introduction are obvious. It has not increased affordable housing, which is what we would hope for. The ad hoc nature of the development can be seen in Harlow, Luton and Croydon, and in Croydon it has meant overdevelopment of office space. There is now a gap, because businesses that want to come into the area cannot, as everything has been converted through permitted development. Also, a lot of quite unsavory people are making quite a lot of money.”

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