Planning for the future: An update on recent policy initiatives and their potential impact on the healthcare estate
Without doubt the events of the last year have raised the profile of healthcare dramatically within the public consciousness.
The corresponding shift in many of our long-held habits may well present a unique opportunity for health-related uses to gain a meaningful foothold in our ‘new world’ town centres. A recent change to the Use Classes Order system in England is already having a substantial impact, both in the composition of future high streets, and more specifically, the various roles that healthcare provision, in its widest context, could play in our high streets of the future. Community, accessibility, viability and opportunity are key themes here. This greater flexibility of use is complemented by a new realisation by some that fast tracking the development process, or the repurposing of existing buildings, can be made to work in the new era in which we find ourselves.
The new Class E use class category, which has been created for commercial, business and services is wide-ranging and allows greater flexibility for changes in use between what were previously separate and somewhat rigid use classes. Use Class E sees an amalgam of many previously separate categories, now under one flexible umbrella, which includes shops, office buildings, research and development facilities, clinics, health centres, creches, day nurseries, day centres, gyms and most indoor recreations. For instance, a surgery may now convert to a soft play centre, a research facility to a retail unit or a dentist to a day nursery without the need for planning permission.
These changes under The Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2020 have come about to help support the future of our high streets and town centres. This policy shift indicates a belief that alternative occupants, such as healthcare, which are less dependent on economic cycles, are an integral component to the overall solution, which seeks a greater mix of town centre uses to ensure long term vitality and viability.
Our professionals recently examined the potential impact of these changes by analysing data on the built property stock of 30 of the largest city centre retail markets in England, not including London. The 30 centres were found to have a total retail stock of 55 million sq ft and office space of 145 million sq ft. This equates to almost 200 million sq ft of retail and office space across the 30 town centres, that has the potential to transfer to other uses as contained within Class E.
With a significant number of shops now redundant, landlords need to take a more flexible approach to accommodating the tenants that are unlikely to be impacted by future recessions or lockdowns.
And that is exactly what is happening. For example, in Oxford the former four storey Debenhams department store which had served the city since the 1800s as a retail premises, closed in 2020. But the building will not stand empty for long. Now that the building is known to be vacant, we have been contacted by various life sciences operators enquiring after its potential suitability for their use. Increasingly in university cities, these types of occupiers are looking for laboratory space where they can work closely alongside universities and attract young professionals. The fact that central and iconic buildings might be occupied by a life sciences organisation represents a significant step forward for the industry which traditionally, tended to be in out-of-town science park locations.
On another city centre building, comprising a 1980s covered shopping centre, our professionals have recently submitted a planning application reducing the retail component of the scheme and now including life sciences, research and development facilities, along with other mixed uses, such as student accommodation. In this instance, the future of the shopping centre will no longer be primarily a retail provision, but a mixed-use building with healthcare at its heart.
These examples help illustrate the intention behind the highly significant Use Classes revisions. It is anticipated that greater use of these planning freedoms will be made by property owners and occupiers as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. Seizing the initiative at scale could do much to contribute to the ambition of the NHS Long Term Plan, particularly around areas such as delivering more collaboration between GPs, their teams and community services as primary care networks. It could also increase the services that they can provide jointly, and enhance the focus on NHS organisations working with their local partners as ‘Integrated Care Systems’. Within the NHS context there is real potential to plan and deliver services which meet the needs of local communities with the second benefit of alleviating pressure on existing hospital sites and their frequently overstretched physical infrastructure.
In addition to the changes highlighted above, there are other shifts in property dynamics occurring currently. Across the country we have seen the likes of vaccine development centres, hospitals and specialist clinical facilities constructed, fitted out and propelled into operation as if being viewed on a time-lapse video. In some cases, change is taking place ahead of the policy that facilitates it. This is previously unheard of and perhaps predicated by the Nightingale programme.
A recent planning permission secured by our professionals for a significant extension to the John Radcliffe Hospital illustrates the point. This was no ordinary planning consent as the building commenced its development prior to obtaining planning approval. The development of a new five storey Adult Intensive Care Unit (AICU) in addition to the demolition and relocation of other key hospital services began just before Christmas 2020, and planning consent was achieved in March 2021. Under normal circumstances, planning approval and construction for a new development of this scale would take many months, possibly years. However, in this instance the Council took a different approach and fast-tracked the application, meaning that much of the planning work was carried out simultaneously with the construction work. Collaboration was key to securing the fast-tracked planning permission with Council officers playing their part in significantly increasing the number of meetings held with all major stakeholders to ensure that the consultation processes were adhered to and queries were responded to swiftly.
For further information on changing planning policy or the evolving healthcare sector, please contact us.
