There has been much discussion recently over what to do about the UK’s flagging high streets, especially as so many former shops, offices and restaurants have now been unoccupied for an extensive period of time now. One idea that came from the government is to relax planning rules when it comes to converting offices and other commercial properties into residential homes, which they hope will not only benefit landlords but also help alleviate the housing crisis which is currently sweeping the UK.
However, in Bristol the local authority have petitioned against the relaxation of the planning rules as they worry it will lead to the creation of sub-standard properties, yet their appeal was overturned. One supporter of the plan to convert office and commercial properties into housing is Stephen Lipfriend who works for the property agents Colliers International and said: “Although we recognise Bristol City Council’s reluctance to stand by while large numbers of offices across the city are converted to residential, we do not believe too many landlords will be taking up those options.”
“There has been a considerable amount of publicity about slums being created out of old office buildings but this is misleading. Any conversions will need to comply fully with the latest building regulations, even where planning permission is not required. As we have seen so many times in Bristol, office buildings and designs go out of fashion within a decade or two and this feeds into high levels of empty and even obsolete space which can easily become an eyesore.”
“But although there are a number of secondary buildings and even offices over shops which could now reward development, not all of this available space will be suitable for conversion to residential. The Government’s initiative could encourage developers to look more closely at other offices. It could have more impact further away from the city centre, where the incidental costs of converting buildings – which was formerly fairly prohibitive – might not be as high.”
Landlords across the UK will be happy to hear that there are more opportunities for private rented accommodation to be built in a variety of busy cities, however they will need to discuss with their landlord insurance provider what type of cover they would need during the property’s renovation. Hopefully, the government’s plan will make use of old buildings and boost the economy, meaning one day in the future investments in commercial properties could start again.