LREF 2016: Hackney Council’s regeneration leader has said Shoreditch developments should have an affordable workspace provision to help the area retain and attract talent.
Guy Nicholson, who is cabinet member for regeneration, said it could form part of planning policy in the same way as affordable housing settlements are agreed with developers.
“We should prioritise affordable workspace with equal weight of affordable housing,” he said at a Savills panel discussion on Old Street and Shoreditch.
“The reason for this is to enable that gateway for new talent to be continually fed into this new economy.”
Shoreditch should not replicate Soho’s “corporate structure”, he added. “It is more dynamic in the east of London and it should be as dynamic as it is now in 20 years’ time.”
However, Helical Bar’s Gerald Kaye and Schroder UK Property Fund’s James Lass warned against introducing compulsory affordable workspace provision.
“I would really caution you against talking about affordable workspace,” Kaye said.
“If you start trying to play with the market you will create a complete imbalance.”
He said affordable housing policy was a “mess” and introducing affordable workspace policy would only all other workspace unaffordable.
Tenants moving out to areas such as Dalston if they cannot afford Shoreditch was a good thing because it helped the regeneration of those areas, he added.
Lass said a compulsory affordable workspace provision would deter investment and make developments less viable.
Derwent London’s Philippa Davies, who is working on the White Collar Factory, EC1, due to complete later this year, said there were alternative ways of ensuring new developments did not kill the Shoreditch “buzz”.
She said: “It is careful placemaking, working with the local community and forming BIDS so that you do not detract the essence and spirit of that local area so that it moves on and you have created a slightly vacuous world.”
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