A plan to stop "slum-like conditions" within city offices that have been converted into homes has been agreed.
On Wednesday evening Norwich City Council's cabinet agreed to remove 'permitted development rights' for converting office space into housing.
Permitted rights were introduced by the government in 2013, allowing developers to bypass the local planning authority and easily make the conversion with no red tape.
Introducing the recommendation, Mike Stonard, cabinet member for inclusive and sustainable growth, said: “This is really important for protecting the city centre economy and also for ensuring good quality housing in the city centre.”
The council put the plan out to consultation in September, receiving 14 responses.
While many responses welcomed the change, others raised concerns. Some of the responses included there being less need for offices space in the future with more home working, the view that offices are better on the outskirts of the city, and that the property market should be left to "its own devices".
Councillor Stonard said: “There is support for our view that the council needs more control as some conversions have not produced good quality housing.
“It is also recognised that office to residential conversions damage the long term health of the city centre and permitted development rights undermine the ability of the planning authority to plan effectively.”
Mr Stonard acknowledged that less office space may be needed if more people work from home in the future, but stressed the measures would not stop all conversions, only enable the council to “manage the process”.
Karen Davis, cabinet member for social inclusion, welcomed the move, saying conversion in other parts of the country had led to "slum-like conditions"
She said: “This is about protecting the office area, but also protecting people’s rights to good, secure accommodation.
"We know that office conversions do not afford good space and they’re often not affordable.”
Liberal Democrat councillor James Wright also welcomed the suggestion, he said what was important was balance and they achieved that by not ruling out conversions but stopping the current “wild west” approach.
Cabinet voted to approve the removal of permitted rights but the council is waiting for approval from the government.
If the secretary of state approves, the rights will be removed on July 29, 2022.
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