Milton Park and the Harwell Oxford campus have been granted exemption from controversial new planning regulations that could have seen offices turned into homes. The new national laws which extend permitted development rights mean developers will no longer need to obtain planning permission to change office buildings into residential dwellings. Vale of White Horse District Council is one of only 17 local authorities in the entire country to have areas excluded from this, and one of only six outside London. Cllr Mike Murray, cabinet member for planning policy at Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We applied for exemption for Milton Park and Harwell Oxford because they are vital employment sites to help support growth in the Vale. It could have led to substantial damage to the local economy if these two sites had not been made exempt, so we are delighted by the decision.” The two large business and innovation sites make up part of the area known as Science Vale UK that the Vale shares with South Oxfordshire. Milton Park and Harwell Oxford could deliver 8,400 jobs by 2015.