The Greater London Authority's consultation on the document ‘Towards a New London Plan’ will run for approximately six weeks. Over that time, we’ll be sharing some thoughts on the key aspects of relevance to the work we do to support our clients in making a bigger positive impact in London.
We’re kicking off with the theme of office conversions in the Central Activities Zone (CAZ) and the suggestion of the potential to repurpose lower-grade office stock.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen an increase in the volume of our work associated with preparing evidence to support a change of use from low-grade, under-utilised office space in the CAZ, to provide homes (including PBSA) or visitor accommodation (hotels). This follows the COVID years, which influenced a well-documented behavioural shift in commuting and office attendance. The consequences for real estate demand have included a flight to quality; demand for greater flexibility and for higher sustainability and energy-efficiency credentials – leaving demand for secondary and tertiary office spaces somewhat more subdued.
Whilst most commentators have predicted this shift to last, there is still uncertainty over just ‘how long?’ with well-documented examples of people in certain companies or industries increasingly being ‘encouraged’ back into the office for what some consider a ‘dreaded’ five days a week. More recently however, the ONS’s 2024 Opinions and Lifestyle Survey has found that whilst the trend in working only from home has fallen since 2021, a hybrid-working model (part travelling to work, and part at home) has become the ‘new normal’ for around a quarter of workers across Great Britain with higher rates amongst the ICT, financial and professional, scientific and services sectors.
In spite of a wealth of evidence to demonstrate lack of demand and viability for lower-grade office spaces, the 'computer' (or planning officer) often still says, ‘No’. Out-of-date Local Plan policies where evidence hasn’t been updated since pre-pandemic times is often the culprit and meanwhile a building sits empty or severely under-utilised making little or no positive contribution to the local community and London’s economy.
We’ve been helping our London clients, including in City of London, LB Hackney and LB Camden and Westminster by:
We’re encouraged by the GLA consultation document’s recognition that lower-grade office stock could be repurposed and will be watching closely to see how this progresses.
If you want to learn more about the possibilities of office conversions and New London Plan, reach out to Zoe Crampton at zoe.crampton@gcinsight.co.uk or Margaret Collins at margaret.collins@gcinsight.co.uk.
