Article 4 direction

What is an Article 4 Direction?

An Article 4 Direction (A4D) is part of planning legislation that allows the council to restrict the scope of permitted development rights either in relation to a particular area or site, or a particular type of development anywhere within the local planning authority's area.

Permitted development (PD) rights are a national grant of planning permission which allow certain works and change of use to be carried out without having to make a planning application under The Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended). These Rights can be withdrawn under Article 4(1) of the order if there is a justification for both its purpose and extent.

An Article 4 Direction does not prevent the development to which it applies, but instead requires that planning permission is first obtained for that development.

Article 4 Directions - Commercial, Business and Service use to Residential

An Article 4 Direction has been made by the Secretary of State to remove permitted development rights regarding the change of use from class E use (Commercial, Business and Service uses) to C3 use (dwellinghouses).

The Direction applies to the sites shown on the Schedule of Maps in the non-immediate Article 4 Direction.

The effect of the Directions means that a change of use from a town centre use to residential and an office use to residential in these locations will require planning permission and will be assessed against our Local Plan policies.

The Direction was made by the Council in September 2022 and was modified by the Secretary of State in January 2024. The modified Article 4 Direction came into effect on 29 March 2024.

Attachments

Article 4 Direction (2022)(PDF, 2.5 MB)

Secretary of State Modified Article 4 Direction (2024)(PDF, 2.2 MB)

Notice Served (PDF)

Conservation areas

We can issue an Article 4 Direction to restrict development rights in conversation areas to protect important features. This means you will need to apply for planning permission to carry out building works for works that would not normally require it. For more information, see our conservation areas page.