A previous post has explained the history of the ‘borough-wide’ Article 4 Direction adopted by RBKC in 2013. This removed the national permitted development rights for change of use between commercial and residential floorspace (in existing buildings).

Ministers have instructed the Council to review and reduce the coverage of this Direction, so that it applies only in those areas where change of use would cause significant harm.

The strong view at our open meeting was that Latimer Road should not be included in revised and reduced areas to be covered by the Direction. Our reasoning is set out in the letter below. The final decision lies with the Minister and not with the Council, so we wait to see the outcome.

Latimer Road, as the main concentration of commercial floorspace in the neighbourhood, is the street most affected. After this review by the Department of Levelling Up and Regeneration, many streets in the Borough will be in the same position of including a mix of residential and commercial floorspace and will no longer be covered by an Article 4 Direction on change of use.