Change of use

Retail and particularly the high-street has been worst affected by the lockdown measures with many businesses having to shut down permanently. Some highlight the opportunity for these empty or underutilised properties to be converted into commercial office space, offering more suburban locations for distributed offices. What impact could this have on the high-street, town centres and even the city.

The recent planning policy changes may offer an essential opportunity for landlords struggling with unused or empty commercial space, instead converting these spaces into residential. There is an estimated 57 million square feet of commercial office space currently empty across the UK, which if converted could provide a significant increase in the supply of housing, much needed across the UK.

Some suggest that underutilised commercial property may be provided to communities in what is referred to as ‘civic placemaking’, building upon the renewed sense of community and social cohesion developed throughout lockdown. proposing that companies may become more locally integrated within the community through providing cultural centres or community hubs.