ESTATE MANAGEMENT


New planning use class, Class E, which encompasses the commercial, business, and service (including healthcare) sectors, enables the repurposing of buildings on high streets and town centres from retail or office use for use as a GPs’ surgery or community health hub without the need for planning consent.


the previous government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Act. The initiative exists to give local authorities (in England only) the power to force landlords to let their long-term vacant properties for community use. Essentially a form of compulsory rental (as opposed to compulsory purchase), this will mean that properties that have been vacant for more than 12 months in a 24-month period may be let through auction by local authorities. Importantly for the NHS, the original consultation on this policy proposed that the preferred tenant may not be the one who is willing to pay the most for a spot on the high street, but rather one that brings greater variety to the high street offer. Considering that places blighted by long-term vacancy tend to be those where low incomes and high unemployment are rife (Manchester and Luton were cited as examples in the consultation), there are clear benefits – as discussed earlier – in utilising such buildings for healthcare. Whether through new build development,


conversion, or simply the short-term use of a retail unit, the opportunities for healthcare services to relocate to high street settings are considerable and well worth further consideration, both on a national level (building on the Built Environment Committee and NHS Confederation reports), but also a local one.


References 1 Independent investigation of the NHS in England. Department of Health and Social Care, 12 September 2024. Updated 15 November 2024. https://tinyurl. com/4e2kb5vp.


2 High streets: Life beyond retail? House of Lords Built Environment Committee, 7 May 2025. https://tinyurl.com/ttje9bsd.


3 NHS Confederation. Health on the high street. 3 December 2020. https://tinyurl.com/ yrzfmd3n.


October 2025 Health Estate Journal 59


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