Investigating the health impact of PD housing in England (IHIPHE)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating potential health and health equality impacts of planning deregulation: The case of permitted development housing in England
IRAS ID
329323
Contact name
Benjamin Clifford
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2023/04/130, UCL Data Protection Number
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 2 months, 28 days
Research summary
This research fills a vital gap in existing work to consider the health impacts and inequalities associated with permitted development (PD) housing in England. This will inform wider policy debate about whether reduced regulation in the planning of urban spaces is aligned with the goal of creating healthier places for people to live.
PD is a category of building activity that does not require full planning permission, the consent usually granted by local government for development. Since 2013, a range of commercial buildings, such as offices and warehouses, can be converted to housing under PD. Comparing the design quality of housing created through PD with that approved through full planning permission, our previous research has exposed their lower standards. It is known that, in general, there are negative health impacts from living in poor quality housing, but this has not yet been comprehensively investigated for PD housing. Considering that over 100,000 homes have been created so far through PD, this is an urgent public health issue.
To investigate this, we will combine planning, construction and address information to form a new list of PD homes across England. We will then link the addresses in this list to hospital admissions and deaths data from 2010 to 2023 to compare hospital usage of PD housing occupants an deaths compared to occupants of other properties in areas that are similar in terms of geographic location or level of deprivation.
This study is work package 1 of a wider study of the health effects of PD housing that will include a further four work packages, all of which will be covered by UCL ethics. The creation of the PD and non-PD address list is also covered by UCL ethics.
This study is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/LO/0976
Date of REC Opinion
11 Dec 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion