Local authorities need to be more proactive in matching supply with demand by, for example, releasing existing 'employment land' allocations for alternative uses and supporting land swaps, says the report. Whole areas may need reconfiguring which may involve the managed release of land and the involvement of local authorities through compulsory purchase orders.
GVA Grimley and Business Strategies have calculated that the 180,000 jobs expected to be lost in the manufacturing sector over the next five years will result in a potential oversupply of at least 5,000 acres of land. In addition, around 2,500 acres of industrial land is already vacant. This compares with forecast demand for an additional 450,000 households over the next five years, requiring some 22,000 acres.
The government's stated aim is for 60% of new housing development to be carried out on recycled land, or 13,300 acres. GVA Grimley and Business Strategies therefore believe that, in principle, 'surplus' manufacturing land could satisfy over half of the demand for residential brownfield land.
Gerry Hughes, national head of regeneration at GVA Grimley, takes a holistic approach to the whole issue of land use. 'While I accept that some industrial sites could and should revert to residential use and vice versa,' he says, 'we have to ensure that, as part of the regeneration agenda, we do provide opportunities to relocate industrial premises to inner city locations and juxtapose this with new residential development. We must have a better balance between uses across conurbations. Local authorities need to move away from the old-style zoning approach so that we avoid one-dimensional cities and instead promote a more flexible, mixed-use approach.'
Tim Heatley, national head of industrial agency at GVA Grimley, adds: 'The UK has seen a major programme of factory closures over the past 10 years as 'old economy' smokestack industries have declined. Some sites held by manufacturing companies for possible expansion, or zoned by local authorities for industrial development, may now never be used for these purposes. There is a real opportunity here to consider whether such land could be redeveloped for new homes or other commercial uses more suited to the location and demands of the marketplace. This switch to 'higher value' residential use could also help to finance industry restructuring.'
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