Up to 340,000 jobs could be lost from London's high streets because of government planning reforms, the leaders of the capital's business improvement districts (BIDs) have warned communities secretary Eric Pickles.

A letter from Simon Pitkeathley, chief executive of Camden Unlimited and chair of the Greater London Authority's BIDs advisory group, urges the exempt Greater London from permitted development rights (PDR). Which make it easier to convert offices into residential flats

Issued on behalf of all 37 of the capital's 41 BIDs  - partnerships of local firms set up to provide environmental improvements and extra services – the letter warns the planning change is ‘fundamentally threatening the vibrancy of our local high streets and is significantly damaging commercial activity across the nation's capital'.