Camden council has issued an Article 4 Direction to protect commercial, business and services uses (Use Class E) in the borough from the new Permitted Development Right. Article 4 directions are usually made when the character of an area of acknowledged importance would be threatened.
A new Permitted Development Right is coming into effect from August 2021, which allows these types of buildings (Use Class E) to be turned residential (use Class C3) without planning permission, and personal dwellings to undergo extensions and renovations without permission.
In response to this, the Council has made Article 4 Directions to withdraw the Permitted Development Right for some parts of the borough. An Article 4 Direction allows a local planning authority, like Camden, to withdraw certain permitted development rights, so that planning permission will be required for large scale developments or change of property use.
The Article 4 Directions were made on 26 July 2021. If confirmed they will come into force on 29 July 2022.