[UPDATE: For the subsequent legislation relating to this statement, please view this post].

Kris Hopkins (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government) has made the following written statement to Parliament, which states that the government intends to remove PD rights for pubs that are listed as assets of community value:

• January 2015: Written statement to Parliament by Kris Hopkins MP (link).

Summary of the above written statement:

The key quotes from the above written statement are as follows:

• "We therefore plan to bring forward secondary legislation at the earliest opportunity so that in England the listing of a pub as an asset of community value will trigger a removal of the national permitted development rights for the change of use or demolition of those pubs that communities have identified as providing the most community benefit."
• "This will mean that in future where a pub is listed as an asset of community value, a planning application will be required for the change of use or demolition of a pub. This then provides an opportunity for local people to comment, and enables the local planning authority to determine the application in accordance with its local plan, any neighbourhood plan, and national policy. The local planning authority may take the listing into account as a material consideration when determining any planning application."

Other Notes:

• It should be noted that the associated "press release" (link) states that "... the listing of a pub as an asset of community value will trigger a temporary removal of the national permitted development rights ...".  However, this extra word "temporary", which appears in the press release but not in the written statement to Parliament, may well be an error.