PLANNING DECISIONS
which supports faster treatment for local patients waiting for day-surgery, which has been delayed due to the pandemic. As the impact of the crisis began to lessen in spring 2021, the delays in operations, and the severe backlog that had resulted, became a priority for the NHS. It has been reported that huge numbers of elective surgeries, such as hip and knee replacements, were cancelled during the early stages of the pandemic, with 4.95 million people waiting to start NHS hospital treatment at the end of March 2021, the highest number since records began in August 2007.
Increasingly, says Carter Jonas, life science companies are looking for lab space in cities where they can work closely alongside universities and attract young professionals.
Case study:
Queen Mary’s Hospital, Roehampton Carter Jonas achieved planning consent for four temporary operating theatres and consulting rooms at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Roehampton. The development was advanced under emergency legislation – Part 12A of Schedule 2 of The Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) (Coronavirus) (England) (Amendment) Order 2020. Formal notification of the development was served on Wandsworth Borough Council on 8 April 2021, and the modular theatres became operational just over two months later, in late June.
The new theatres are located within the car park of the existing hospital, and form part of a Forward Elective Capacity Plan
Surgeons’ body warning The Royal College of Surgeons has warned that unless the situation is taken seriously, waiting lists will become insurmountable. It is recommended that £1 bn is set aside for ‘special hubs’ over the next five years, with hubs set up in every region of England to deal with non-urgent procedures. The concern is that the situation could get even worse if there was a fresh wave of COVID 19 cases, or as a result of future pressures caused by seasonal flu.
Change of use legislation
In addition to the exceptions made to the planning system though emergency legislation, other changes are taking shape. These changes to the built environment generally are similarly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but extend beyond healthcare. With the economy –and specifically the future of our town centres – being debated even before the pandemic, planning changes are being introduced to allow more flexibility on the high street.
A change to the Use Classes Order system in England, implemented with uncharacteristic speed in September 2020, is substantially changing our town centres – both the composition of future high streets, and, more specifically, the various roles that healthcare (and other functions) will play in high streets of the future.
In place of the old Use Classes Order system, which placed specific functions in specific categories, and prevented change of use between them, the new Class E use class category which has been created for commercial, business, and services, is wide-ranging in use, and will create greater flexibility for changes in use between what were previously separate use classes. This 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. This change has come about to help protect the future of our high streets and town centres, and the policy shift indicates a belief that alternative occupants – particularly those, such as healthcare, which are less dependent on economic cycles – are an important component of the solution.
Data analysed
Carter Jonas examined the potential impact of these changes by analysing data on the stock of 30 of the largest city centre retail markets in England, not including London. The 30 centres were
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September 2021 Health Estate Journal 29
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