One quibble with the following: "As with many similar sites across the capital, rather than demolish the building and start again, the new owners decided to keep the factory’s 1970s concrete office block and convert it into flats, aimed at those who could not afford to live more centrally".
One quibble with the following: "As with many similar sites across the capital, rather than demolish the building and start again, the new owners decided to keep the factory’s 1970s concrete office block and convert it into flats, aimed at those who could not afford to live more centrally".
Planning policy incentivises owners to try to repurpose manifestly unsuitable buildings rather than knock them down and start again. If we had a better, more permissive planning system along the lines that Labour are proposing, I am not sure the owners would have retained the 1970s building.
I enjoyed the article.
One quibble with the following: "As with many similar sites across the capital, rather than demolish the building and start again, the new owners decided to keep the factory’s 1970s concrete office block and convert it into flats, aimed at those who could not afford to live more centrally".
Planning policy incentivises owners to try to repurpose manifestly unsuitable buildings rather than knock them down and start again. If we had a better, more permissive planning system along the lines that Labour are proposing, I am not sure the owners would have retained the 1970s building.