Planning Reform for High Streets: An Opportunity for Hospitality?

The Government has announced a major overhaul of planning and licensing rules aimed at breathing new life into high streets across England. Central to the reforms is a new National Licensing Policy Framework, designed to remove red tape and make it significantly easier to convert vacant retail units into cafés, bars, music venues and other hospitality spaces. While previous efforts to revive high streets have often relied on piecemeal local initiatives, this reform package aims to set out a more cohesive national strategy to enable quicker and more flexible use of underutilised buildings in town and city centres.

Among the most notable features of the new policy is the proposed introduction of ‘hospitality zones’ - designated areas where local authorities can expedite approvals for hospitality uses and outdoor dining. These zones are intended to act as test beds for simplified licensing and planning procedures, allowing operators to bypass some of the delays and inconsistencies that often characterise the current system. The reform also includes streamlined processes for extending opening hours, hosting street parties and applying for alfresco dining space, particularly where such activities would help activate otherwise quiet frontages.

A significant shift in the planning-policy landscape comes with the formal embedding of the ‘agent of change’ principle at a national level. This will provide crucial protection for existing pubs, clubs and live music venues, many of which have faced mounting pressure from noise complaints as residential developments have crept closer to long-established nighttime uses. Under the new framework, the burden will fall on new development to mitigate the impacts of proximity to noise-generating uses, not the other way around - a welcome clarification that aims to reduce the loss of cultural and hospitality venues through creeping incompatibility.

While these reforms are broadly welcomed across the hospitality and development sectors, they are not without caveats. The industry has responded with cautious optimism: trade bodies such as UKHospitality and the Night Time Industries Association have praised the direction of travel, but emphasised that reform of the licensing system must be accompanied by wider action on operational costs, business rates, VAT and wage pressures. Without that, many independent operators may still struggle to translate simplified regulations into viable business models.

Nevertheless, the planning implications are clear. For local authorities and developers alike, the message is that disused Class E units can and should be reimagined as social infrastructure - not just through permitted development routes but with policy support that actively encourages hospitality and cultural uses. The national licensing framework, if implemented coherently, could reduce the friction that often puts smaller operators at a disadvantage. At the same time, the introduction of hospitality zones signals a shift towards more proactive spatial planning, where local authorities play a direct role in targeting regeneration activity and unlocking value in struggling commercial centres.

There will of course be practical questions to resolve. Consultation is still ongoing on the details of how these zones will be defined and what degree of local flexibility will remain. And while the headline policy direction is clear, success will depend on the speed and clarity of implementation, particularly where planning and licensing departments remain under-resourced. But the opportunity is there - these reforms open the door to a more agile, responsive approach to high street recovery; one that recognises the economic and social value of hospitality not just as a consumer service, but as a driver of place-based renewal.

In planning terms, this marks a meaningful shift. By reducing the friction between planning and licensing regimes, and by protecting key uses from displacement, the government is signalling a broader ambition to reset the balance between regulation and regeneration.