Kensington and Chelsea launch legal challenge against government to save its high streets

By Jacob Phillips, local democracy reporter

Kensington and Chelsea Council has launched a legal challenge against the government in a bid to save its high streets.

The borough fears 14,600 office jobs could be lost after the government allowed property developers to turn high street staples such as cafes, restaurants, and hairdressers into homes on April 21.

Now the council (RBKC) has asked the government to make an allowance to stop landowners from turning Kensington and Chelsea shops into expensive homes.

The council has asked the government to let it have an article 4 direction in place which means any shops that want to be converted into homes will need planning permission.

Planning councillor Johnny Thalassites said: “We’ve got some of the most famous high streets in the world.

“Places like Portobello Road and Sloane Street are vibrant high streets that serve local communities as well as iconic destinations for Londoners and tourists.

“This is about protecting those places so that they are not watered down by ill-fitting residential developments.”

There are worries the new rules could lead to important parts of town centres being sold and discourage people from visiting the area.

RBKC has also highlighted if more properties are turned into homes in the borough there will be fewer jobs for residents.

Currently, there are 23,000 residents employed in the borough’s retail sector and there are fears shops could be turned into luxury housing.

Cllr Thalassites said: “Residential values in our borough are some of the highest in the world, it’s been an issue for a long time and we’ve already been keen to protect other uses beyond top-end residential properties.

“Much about the government’s planning reforms make perfect sense because we do need homes and we are prioritising that through our own programme of building and identifying areas for new development.

“But we are a uniquely small, developed borough with clusters of businesses throughout. That’s why we want to be able to continue asking for planning permission when it comes to changing the use of a building, whether that be a shop, café or nursery.”

The council currently has the power to ask for planning permission to change offices to residential properties.

The Ministry of Housing confirmed RBKC has asked for an exemption to the rules and that it is considering the council’s application.