The Government give ‘permitted development rights’ to certain types of development to allow them to be undertaken without requiring planning permission to be sought. However, in some cases, the Council can remove permitted development rights by introducing an Article 4 Direction so that planning permission must be applied for to undertake that type of development.
St Peter’s
In 2009, the Council introduced a Direction to remove some permitted development rights from certain properties around St Peter’s Church in Darwen.
View and download Article 4 Direction for St Peters
Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs)
In August 2023, we introduced a new Direction to restrict the change of use from a family dwelling to a House of Multiple Occupation (HMO) in all urban areas of the Borough. In those areas, you must get planning approval to do that type of development.
The 2023 Direction replaces an earlier 2013 Direction.