Westminster CC Issue Article 4 Direction on Basement Development

Westminster City Council has confirmed that from 31 July 2016 an Article 4 Direction will come into force to remove permitted development (PD) rights granted by Schedule 2, Part 1, Class A of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 for the enlargement, improvement or other alteration of a dwellinghouse, by way of basement development, lightwells, or any other development below the dwellinghouse or its curtilage.

At present some limited types of basement extension benefit from PD rights meaning that they can be carried out without the need to apply for planning permission. This Article 4 Direction will remove these PD rights within Westminster, allowing the Council to consider the proposal in more detail through the formal planning application process which also requires a variety of supporting documents to be prepared.

Westminster’s decision to remove basement PD rights follows a similar Article 4 Direction imposed by RBKC which came into force on 28 April 2016. Both Councils have experienced a huge rise in the number of basement extensions over recent years and have taken the fairly unusual step of introducing a Borough-wide Article 4 Direction (which are more commonly limited to very specific areas within a local authority) as a means of ensuring all basement development is brought under the Council’s control.

If you have any queries regarding the implications of this Article 4 Direction, please feel free to contact one of the Firstplan team.