The move follows proposals set out in More Affordable Childcare, which aim to speed up and simplify the process for opening new nurseries to increase the provision of childcare for working families.
The Department for Communities and Local Government has launched a consultation asking for views on proposals to change the planning regulations to make it easier for buildings to be converted to provide childcare.
The aim is to replicate the rights that were given to state-funded schools in May this year.
If the plans go ahead, the change in the law will mean that premises currently used as offices, hotels, residential and non-residential institutions, some agricultural buildings, and leisure facilities could be converted into nurseries without the need for a full planning application.
The consultation states, ‘Permitted development rights for nurseries will enable providers to respond more quickly to changing market needs and help grow a thriving and competitive childcare market. Access to suitable premises that can be quickly converted to nurseries is repeatedly flagged by providers as an issue which limits their ability to be rapidly responsive to growing childcare needs.’
The Government intends the change to come into force from next April.
Writing in the current issue of Nursery World this week, education and childcare minister Elizabeth Truss said, ‘We want to extend the planning freedoms that schools already have to all nurseries so it is much easier to secure new premises and convert, for example, office blocks into suitable spaces for children. This will cut out a lot of red tape and mean that good providers are able to develop their offer.’
The consultation, Greater flexibilities for change of use, also proposes changes to make better use of existing buildings, support rural communities and high streets, and provide new housing.
Also included are plans to allow agricultural buildings of up to 500m2 to be converted for use as new state schools or nurseries, as well as for residential purposes.
Ministers want to make better use of existing buildings, so that empty shops and smaller farm buildings of up to 150m2 can be developed into new homes, as well as for shops to change their use to banks and building societies.
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, welcomed the Government’s plans.
‘Removing red tape and planning permission is a positive step towards providing the support working parents and their children need,' she said.
‘NDNA has lobbied for a relaxation of the rules to allow expansion and help provide the places needed for two-year-olds.’
But she added, ‘The new regulations will only apply to registered providers and ensuring these new sites are suitable and up to standard will require thorough and consistent inspections.
‘In view of the recent concerns NDNA members have raised about Ofsted inspections we would urge the Government to make sure a robust set of guidelines are in place before the rules come into practice.
‘Good quality childcare must always be the priority but any move to take away unnecessary bureaucracy which will help lower the costs early years providers face can only be a positive step.
‘As well as allowing start-up businesses more scope for premises, the possibility of expansion means an established business can look at growth in its existing building and a real hope for the future.’
The consultation closes on 15 October.
