Growth opportunities being stifled by shortage of commercial space

GROWTH opportunities in Coventry and Warwickshire are being stifled by a shortage of commercial space in the area, a property analyst has said.

David Penn, a director at Bromwich Hardy in Coventry, said not enough land was being brought forward for employment purposes and without it, firms would be unable to grow.

“There is simply not enough employment land being brought forward. Full stop. It means that plans for growth, change and investment for SMEs and major employers are being severely hampered,” he said.

“The consensus is that the West Midlands has a one-year supply for warehousing and industrial space and that the situation in Coventry and Warwickshire is even more acute.”

His comments will resonate with others in the region who have similar fears.

Jon Ryan-Gill, who heads Knight Frank’s Midlands industrial agency team, said last week that if a firm such as Jaguar land Rover or Amazon needed a 500,000 sq ft unit, then the region could not provide it.

Mr Penn, who is also a director at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said the situation was even more acute in the offices market, where available space had halved between 2011 and 2015.

The chamber is running a year-long Go For Growth campaign which aims to highlight barriers to business expansion in the region as well as shine a light on those firms who are growing.

The latest phase of the campaign is looking at issues around commercial property.

Mr Penn (left) said recent figures from the chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey, provided evidence for the shortage.

He said nearly one in five of the companies surveyed required new or additional space and half of those were looking for offices.

Three quarters of the companies wanting extra space said they would need it in the next two years and just one in 20 firms overall have existing surplus space.

“We have a thriving and rapidly expanding tech community, a positive trade balance with China and yet there is virtually no allocation for new R&D space – this is an area where we can be a truly world class centre with the skills we have and the two universities,” he added.

“In a nutshell, we want businesses to grow, we need businesses to grow and we are encouraging businesses to grow but without the space to move into, it cannot happen – the situation is becoming critical.”

Mr Penn has written to the Planning Inspector ahead of Coventry’s Local Plan Public Examination and has also met with business and civic leaders across the city and the county to discuss the dire need for more employment space.

Among his recommendations are expanding key employment areas such as Ansty Park (home of the London Taxi Company’s new factory) and Ryton, growth in employment land around Junction 3 of the M6, the final and complete approval for the Coventry & Warwickshire Gateway Scheme and a comprehensive review of office sites across the region to support economic growth.

Another proposal is to create a new Outer Ring Road for Coventry on the south-east, south-west and north-west sides of the city from the A46/A45 in the south round towards the A45 at Eastern Green and then on towards the M6 at Corley Services.