COMMENT: Last week, the City of London Corporation announced plans to convert empty offices into 1,500 new homes by 2030. In addition, the Corporation will revitalise the City’s gardens, streets and public spaces, while also improving cycle routes, in a bid to make the area a more “attractive and inclusive” place to spend time.
It is the new homes that have set the cat among the pigeons. The City of London is famously protective of its status as an office hub, so the plans mark a step change for the governing body.
Indeed, commentators have been quick to criticise, arguing that the plans risk turning the ancient City of London into just another mixed-use scheme.
But to take this view is to see the plans in only one dimension. Covid-19 and consequent lockdown measures have revealed chinks in the armour of our strong and stable financial heart. The once-bustling City of London has lately been deserted, but these new plans will undoubtedly breathe new life back into the heart of the City, boosting its competitiveness and attractiveness in a post-pandemic world.
No reward without risk
Yes, the plans mean the character of the City of London will change, and this is risky – but only insofar as that all progress requires a certain level of risk, and we have to face facts: the post-pandemic new normal will require substantial changes to our way of life. More housing will allow Londoners to spread out and will also reduce pressure on public transport – both of huge importance, as we learn to live with the coronavirus.
Indeed, densely packed pubs are, for now, a thing of the past; the City’s restaurants will no longer be able to rely on high turnover during the week to make up for the fact the area becomes a ghost town on the weekend. If we aren’t careful, we will lose the bars, pubs, restaurants and shops that make the City an enjoyable place to work, and return to how things were in the late 80s and 90s, when an after-work drink meant a trip to the West End. If the City is to bring in new retailers, and if its existing occupiers are to survive, there needs to be a more permanent clientele calling it home.
Besides, this is not new territory. For centuries, the City of London was densely populated, and it is only with the arrival of efficient public transport that commuting into work has become commonplace. Post-lockdown, many of us will continue working part-time from home, spending less time in the office but crucially being more flexible with our hours and commuting times. So, it will make sense for some City employees to live closer to their workplace, as people did in the past and still commonly do in our major European cities.
Meanwhile, more affordable housing in the City will allow key and lower-income workers, who would typically be priced out of the area, to live closer to work and spend less time on busy (not to mention polluting) means of mass transport.
The City of London Corporation’s new plans will see a natural blurring of the distinction between life and work, retail and leisure. The result will be a City that better reflects the diversity of its population. In a city as old as London, it is strange to have a financial centre that is so segregated from the population, and we only have to look to Europe to see the benefits of cities that are more blended and balanced – and above all, fun – places to live, work and raise families.
Natural next step
The new plans are the natural next step in the City’s evolution, which was already diversifying before the pandemic hit. Once simply our financial centre, the City is now home to tech giants like Amazon, and countless fintech and green finance companies are moving in.
By improving 5G infrastructure, the Corporation wants to entice tech start-ups, and bring in creative and cultural businesses with offers of low-cost, long-term lets in vacant and little-used spaces. This evolution is vital if the City is to continue to be attractive and competitive.
Avison Young’s UK Cities Recovery Index has shown that London’s workforce remains hesitant to return to the office. But if the City’s real estate were more diverse, the area would feel less sterile, less like work – essentially, a much more appealing place for workers to be.
In the post-pandemic world, a flashy City head office is no longer going to be enough to attract employees, who will increasingly expect to work from home at least part-time. Instead of going back to the way things were, these new plans will allow the City to adapt to “the new normal”, helping it become a destination all through the week, instead of just 9-5 and Monday to Friday.
Chris Gore is principal, central London investment, at Avison Young
