Watering down of investment zones is a missed opportunity

Jeremy Hunt’s autumn statement has rowed back on the encouraging proposals around investment zones that had been put forward under the previous prime minister. While little flesh had been put on the bones of Liz Truss’s investment zones policy, it nevertheless suggested that the Government was looking at ways to encourage new investment across the board in industrial and other areas.

Truss was at least aware of the opportunities to address how existing land use policy remains a persistent brake on growth, supply systems and community infrastructure. The new government appears either unaware or uniterested in the potential for growth and innovation in this area. 

Land use in the UK is often contested, with industrial use in particular often perceived as unattractive and disruptive. Competition for land between residential and industrial developers has also exacerbated existing shortages, driving up values and threatening fragile supply lines.

Coupled with good design, however, industrial intensification – defined by the Mayor of London as a mixed-use, co-location scheme where over 65% of the floorspace capacity is being used for warehousing or industrial space – offers a way of resolving the tension between industrial and other land uses, and certainly of reducing industry’s physical footprint to free up land for other purposes.

Within the UK, it appears that perception within the property industry is a major obstacle to change

Outside of the UK, industrial intensification is increasingly commonplace. In Germany, for instance, the Four Parx Hamburg logistics facility can support large trucks over two storeys using ramps – a simple yet innovative solution that has rarely been replicated in the UK, despite similar pressures on space and land costs.

Within the UK, it appears that perception within the property industry is a major obstacle to change. Research by Chetwoods – based on a survey of UK industry experts – shows that industrial intensification is viewed with caution by the property profession, and that this scepticism and reluctance to change is one of the biggest obstacles to addressing land supply shortages, creating more efficient supply networks, and supporting communities.

In London, the Mayor of London and the GLA are demonstrating real leadership and an ability to respond to the needs of both industry and London’s economy with the Bugsby’s Way development in Greenwich, where a 1.3ha brownfield site near the Greenwich Peninsula has been earmarked for industrial intensification.

The new government’s search for greater efficiencies should be applied as readily to land use as it is to public expenditure

Here, the Mayor and GLA worked with Chetwoods to develop an initial concept design for a multi-use scheme to support a range of businesses from logistics operators to SMEs, and to shift the perceptions of industrial buildings from traditional single-storey sheds to innovative, multi-faceted buildings. Elsewhere in Greenwich, planning consent has been granted for U+I’s Morden Wharf scheme, which will see the co-location of 1,800 sq.m of space for warehousing, workshops and SME incubator space designed by Chetwoods, alongside over 1,500 new homes.

Both these projects, despite their obvious merits, remain exceptions. The UK – a relatively small country with acute pressure on land supply and values – should not be lagging behind in this way. Only a few months ago fuel shortages demonstrated how fragile our national logistical infrastructure can be. Government and industry need to move on from their complacent reliance on outdated models, and grasp the opportunities to deliver real value through industrial intensification.

As the GLA has demonstrated, it is going to take political leadership and investment to overcome resistance based on outdated industry perceptions. The new government’s search for greater efficiencies should be applied as readily to land use as it is to public expenditure if we are to deliver long-term benefits to our economy and communities.