The ‘lost’ offices of the West End
Property consultancy H2SO says more than 4m sq ft of office space in the West End of London were converted for other uses between 2001 and 2009. This trend is unlikely to vanish in the medium term, it says, as there are further planning permissions covering 1.8m sq ft lodged with Westminster that involve converting offices to other uses.
Of the 4m sq ft total, around 3m sq ft of office property within the Westminster planning authority was turned into residential accomodation and the remainder was converted for hotel, leisure and other non-office uses.
Despite all this ‘lost’ office space, the effect has been partly offset by new development, especially in locations next to the core West End area. Within that central location, however, there was an estimated net loss of more than 320,000 sq ft ‘B1’ (office) space between 2004 and 2009.
H2SO partner Paul Smith, said: “The trend for office buildings in London’s West End being converted to other – primarily residential – uses gained momentum more than a decade ago when Westminster council instigated a policy of not renewing the ‘temporary’ office planning consents that were granted on many buildings after the Second World War. Today, the proliferation of residential accommodation is accelerating significantly again as the value of high-end residential outstrips cooling commercial values. Many period office buildings that started life as private homes are struggling to find commercial occupiers. This presents the opportunity for residential conversion, and the planners have generally looked favourably on such proposals.”
“While on the face of it this apparent loss of stock might appear to be bad news for the West End office market, it should actually be welcomed as it repositions a whole raft of buildings back to their appropriate use, brings new life to them and also funnels demand to the office buildings that work best for contemporary occupiers.”
“The trend puts the West End in better shape to meet the needs of those who either want to do business or live in the location.”
