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Town Hall chiefs have agreed new measures to retain “vibrant” high streets with independent shops.

A planning direction agreed by Islington Council’s executive committee has removed the permitted development right which allows retail shops to be turned into financial and professional services, such as an estate agent or a solicitor’s office, without the need for planning permission. However, councils have powers to remove that right by issuing what is known as an Article 4 direction.

One of the reasons for the change, the report before councillors said, was the proliferation of estate agents in Islington.

“There is evidence of a significant rise in estate agents in Islington since early 2015 [...] meaning that Islington, the second smallest local authority area in London, now has 111 estate agents, the second highest number of all London boroughs,” the report said.

The measures, which apply to the whole of the borough, mean firms wishing to convert have to go through the council’s planning process.

Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington’s housing and planning chief, said: “It’s about making sure there’s a balance so that we have vibrant high streets and small shops are protected. It doesn’t say you can’t convert to an estate agent or solicitor’s or accountant’s office. You should have planning permission, so we exercise a degree of control over that. This means we can protect small shops also and make sure we have vibrant town centres with a sense of community, where there’s something for everyone. We have a really good variety of shops and we want to maintain that.”