Report

Making space

This report from UK think tank the Centre for London looks at how to accommodate London’s industrial future.

Industrial land is crucial to London’s economy but over the last two decades too much of this land has been lost. This report explores the future of London’s industrial land. In twenty years, almost a quarter of the city’s industrial space has been converted for other uses such as housing, leading to the knock-on effect of rising land values and rents, squeezing out businesses and causing job losses.

The Industrial Land Commission, chaired by leading property industry expert Liz Peace CBE and convened by Centre for London, raises the alarm over the loss of industrial land across London and the UK’s biggest city regions. With the situation now critical, the commission warns against the further loss of industrial land and calls for urgent action to address London’s industrial land shortage, support businesses and protect jobs. The Commission argues that London cannot afford to lose any more industrial land. Jobs in traditional industrial activities such as manufacturing, repair and warehousing are worth more than £78 billion to the city’s economy, but the true figure is likely to be even higher as this excludes non-industrial activities such as most creative industries.