More than 50,000 new homes could be created by converting the UK’s empty shops, new research shows.
Figures from Estates Gazette Retail Research show that if all 43m sq ft of vacant town centre retail space now being marketed nationwide was converted it could create 52,500 homes, based on an average UK home of 818 sq ft.
In total there is 73m sq ft of vacant retail space, which would equate to almost 90,000 homes, but much of that is in shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks.
The government launched a consultation on proposals to allow empty shops to be converted into homes without planning permission last week in a bid to ease the housing crisis.
Industry experts believe the amount of empty space in town centres suitable for conversion will fall drastically below 43m ?sq ft.
Empty shops’ housing potential
| Type of retail | Sq ft | Equivalent homes |
|---|---|---|
| Town centre | 43m | 52,570 |
| Shopping centres | 9.5m | 11,600 |
| Out of town | 20.7m | 25,270 |
| TOTAL | 73.2m | 89,440 |
Source: Estates Gazette Retail Research
“Let’s get real, the only shops that are going to get converted are those that were originally houses and were then converted into retail,” said Alistair Parker, partner at Cushman & Wakefield’s London development retail group. He added that this equated to less than 5% of the total, or roughly 2,600 homes.
Susan Emmett, director of retail research at Savills, said: “You cannot assume this is a free meal ticket for developers, you don’t get a big uplift just by converting to resi, you have to look at it at a really granular level, but more homes are needed, so anything helps.”
Around 250,000 homes pa are needed for the next 25 years, according to recommendations by economist Kate Barker, but only around 130,000 are being built each year.
Nadia.Elghamry@estatesgazette.com
