Quote ="Mintball"Thank you both – Coddy:
you know me so well.
We've had lots of new housing developments locally and many have had commercial space on the ground floor. It seems that it's usually listed, in the original planning application, as office space. Yet we have surfeit of this locally, with plenty of new office space standing empty long after the buildings have been completed.
We're now in a situation where the council wants to throw out loads of small businesses from a sort of mini industrial estate and build flats on it – with office space on the ground floor. But only a month or so ago, the council changed the usage on a similar development around the corner so that it can move from office space to retail – and Sainsbury's will be moving in sometime soon. Unlike the original application (for office space) there was no consultation at all, and local businesses are now convinced that this new scheme is (along with throwing existing businesses out) a way of shoehorning yet another supermarket into the area via a backdoor that requires no consultation – and yes, they fear that that will be Tesco.
So I'm doing a little research, shall we say.
'"
Playing the devils avacado, wouldn't a development of apartments, or indeed lots of developments of apartments in an area, benefit more from retail outlets on the ground floor rather than office/commercial use ?
In the current climate any business looking for accommodation has the market in the palm of its hand, I drive through Leeds city centre every day and the To Let signs are everywhere, I doubt whether any office block is 100% occupied - given that sort of situation wouldn't it be better to have retail outlets rather than boarded up ground floor offices in your neighbourhood ?
you know me so well.
'"
