Architect Levitt Bernstein has launched a petition to try and force MPs to debate the impact of allowing offices and factories to be converted into what it calls “sub-standard housing”.

The firm said many of the new homes created by permitted right developments (PDRs), described by some as “21^st century slums”, lacked sufficient space and natural light and bypassed national and local policies and standards.

The petition, created by BD columnist and Levitt Bernstein’s head of housing research Julia Park, argued the government’s promise not to sacrifice quality for quantity was at odds with such conversions resulting “in the smallest new housing built with permission in this country”.

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