‘Slums of the future’ may spring from relaxed UK planning rules, experts warn

‘Rabbit-hutch’ flats could be crammed into repurposed office spaces

Thousands of tiny, substandard “rabbit-hutch” flats could be created in commercial buildings left empty by the coronavirus economic slowdown under planning reforms championed by Boris Johnson.

University College London professor Ben Clifford – who recently completed a government review of housing produced outside the conventional planning system – said allowing developers to turn a wider range of commercial properties into flats without planning checks could lead to a wave of substandard conversions.

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