Changes to Planning Rules to Protect Dacorum’s Employment Areas

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Recent changes in planning rules mean that changes of use from office, light industrial or warehouse use to houses or flats does not require planning permission.

Such schemes already completed or approved since 2014 under these new rules are likely to result in the loss up to 3,000 office jobs in Dacorum. Most of these job losses are occurring in our main employment areas including Maylands Business Park and Hemel Hempstead town centre.

Consequently, Dacorum Borough Council is concerned about the impact that this is having in the area to retain existing businesses and jobs, attract new businesses and jobs, and to provide services locally for Dacorum’s residents, workers and visitors.

In January this year the Council proposed to reintroduce the need for planning permission in key employment areas for the changes of use from office, light industrial or warehouse use to houses or flats by designating the following locations as Article 4 areas:

Maylands Business Park; Doolittle Meadows, Hemel Hempstead; Whiteleaf Road, Hemel Hempstead; Park Lane, Hemel Hempstead; Bourne End Mills, Bourne End; Northbridge Road and River Park, Berkhamsted and Icknield Way, Tring.

The Council carried out a consultation on the proposal which ended on 18 February 2019. Following consideration of the responses received it decided to confirm those locations as Article 4 areas and they will come into force on 7 January 2020.

Further information is available on the Council’s website at: www.dacorum.gov.uk/article4.