Member

There is another way of getting rid of the ambiguity. If the Government were of the view that the public interest in this kind of accommodation is as compelling as has been said, it would be open to the Government to propose amendments to the general permitted development order and/or use classes order deeming that, in all circumstances, this accommodation is not a material change of use or does not need permission, so the bright line in the sand can be drawn the other way. If the Government have the courage of their convictions in relation to that, they can bring forward the relevant secondary legislation, which would be subject to the scrutiny of Parliament in the usual way. The current ambiguous uncertain situation is not satisfactory. It has to be either one or the other but not somewhere in between.