Islington Council has moved to protect commercial properties by approving the second tranche of Article 4 Directions. The decision, made at the Executive meeting on Thursday 17 July 2025, aims to safeguard the economic function of retail and employment areas within the borough, including Locally Significant Industrial Sites (LSISs) and Priority Employment Locations (PELs).
The Article 4 Directions withdraw permitted development rights, meaning that landowners will now need to seek planning permission to change the use of a property from Class E (commercial, business and service uses) to dwelling houses. This measure is intended to prevent the erosion of retail and employment spaces, ensure the delivery of quality homes, and support the council's climate action ambitions by ensuring sustainability policies can be applied to development proposals, delivering warmer, more efficient homes for residents.
This change impacts existing property owners by requiring them to seek planning permission for changes of use from Class E to dwelling houses, meaning they can no longer automatically convert commercial properties to residential without it.
Councillor Bradsell introduced the report, explaining that it prevents developers from turning commercial property into housing, especially those properties that are not on high streets. He stated, So what this paper does is it stops developers being able to turn commercial property into housing, specifically commercial properties or not high streets.
The council is concerned about the potential conversion of a broad range of commercial and community uses within Class E to residential use. This includes shops, restaurants, offices, and indoor sports facilities.
The council consulted on the proposed directions between 6 September and 18 October 2024, receiving 26 representations. These included five general objections, two objections to the inclusion of specific properties, twelve responses in support of the proposals, and seven responses commenting on the proposals but neither objecting to them nor offering support. The general objections included arguments that the council is resisting housebuilding, that there is no demand for offices, and that the council should not be so involved in what people are building. The Executive Report_ Confirmation of Tranche 2 Class MA Article 4 Directions_I030729 notes that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government was notified of the directions but had not provided a response at the time of writing the report.
The Article 4 Directions are set to come into effect on 1 September 2025. More information is available in the Public reports pack 17th-Jul-2025 17.00 Executive.
