Turning offices into houses ‘could restrict growth’

Manchester City Council has hit back at controversial plans by the government to allow office spaces to be turned into flats and other residential property, arguing that such a move could strangle economic growth in the city.

The government has recently moved to bring new permitted development rights into law after a series of consultations last year. Under the new ruling business offices will be allowed to be converted into residential properties without formal planning permission from the local authorities. Although the plans have been tabled to create jobs in the construction sector, local authorities have hit back at the move saying it will strangle growth in the long-term.

The council’s argument

Manchester has become the latest city to follow the example set by London and oppose the new ruling – see our post will changes to planning law affect space availability. The local government has argued that the loss of office space in the city could restrict future economic growth in Manchester and the wider area. With around 15 million sq ft of office space already in use in the city the council says that economic growth over the next 15 years is predicated on further large scale commercial development.

A document prepared for a council executive meeting says: “There is a danger that decisions to convert office space to residential properties, that are commercially attractive for landowners based on today’s economy, will result in a reduction in the availability of office space that could weaken the city’s economy and threaten its ability to function effectively in the future.”

Although the council didn’t include which areas of the city they wished to be exempt from the new planning procedures, it noted that areas in which offices can be shown to be important to the city’s current and future economic growth would be protected.