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The UK’s new Labour government has set itself the bold target of building 1.5 million homes in the next five years to deal with the critical shortage of housing. Of course we are fully supportive of this initiative, as we do need affordable housing, but Worcestershire’s economy also needs commercial space for businesses to support employment. So, people can enjoy living and working in their local area, both now and in the future.

Worcestershire’s business property shortage means demand far exceeds supply for commercial premises, and this has been the case for many years. We have unprecedented demand for small, medium and large industrial units throughout the region. The shortage of warehouses, industrial units and offices in Worcestershire is most acute for micro and small enterprises which make up more than 97% of the county’s businesses.

Developers within Worcester City Centre have done a great job in converting and refurbishing office space in the city centre such as the Vinegar Works, Porcelain Works and Old Fire Station. However, the crisis for small commercial units continues. Our Commercial Property Market Research Report states that last year saw the fewest number of transactions below 5,000 sq. ft ever and demand for these units is increasing as previous sites are repurposed.

The Labour party also pledges to prioritise brownfield sites and allow development on so-called “grey belt” areas, such as wasteland or disused car parks, within the green belt, including a new generation of new towns. Living by a motorway junctions is not appealing in anyway but having Commercial premises (offices of warehousing) next to a motorway junction is ideal and doesn’t require huge infrastructure costs in the form of new access roads or services.

Our motorways offer easy access to the rest of the country so already play a large part in Worcestershire’s business success. The six motorway junctions provide ready-made, existing infrastructure around which to base industrial and business parks. The industrial development at Worcester Six shows that this is possible, but this offers only large units, and we need to ensure new developments meet the needs of the majority of small businesses with industrial and warehouse units available from 2,000 sq. ft to 15,000 sq. ft to rent and buy.

Land around Worcestershire’s six motorway junctions should be allocated exclusively for employment usage to address the county’s shortage of business premises and prevent employers re-locating elsewhere.

Worcestershire is an extremely attractive business location, so it is imperative that we all continue to move forward together to overcome the issue of Worcestershire’s business property shortage.