London councils are sitting on more than 22,000 empty garages that could be converted into thousands of flats for the capital
New data has revealed councils in London have access to tens of thousands of empty garages that could be used for housing.
According to the information 24 out of 32 London councils own more than 53,000 lockup garages across the capital, but some 41 per cent of these are empty or in disrepair. This means local authorities are sitting on more than 22,000 empty garages, which, if converted into the average one-bed flat, could provide at least 16,000 new homes.
Empty garages could provide thousands of homes
The data, which was collected via a Freedom of Information request, was put together by property crowdfunding platform Property Partner. The firm found Ealing, Havering, Brent, and Enfield were among the worst offending boroughs in the capital. Ealing was found to have 1,480 empty garages—74 per cent of its stock, while Havering has 1,469 (72 per cent). Brent and Enfield fared no better, with the former having 1,234 (71 per cent) and the latter 2,008 (70 per cent) lying unused.
Southwark Council has the highest number of garages in London at 6,624. Of this number 1,891 (29 per cent) are empty. Property Partner said if all its lock ups were turned into single storey one-bed flats the total square footage would equate to at least 1,989 new homes.
The total square footage of council-owned garages is more than eight million (based on the average size totalling almost 150 sq ft). It was calculated that if the land was sold for development or if affordable homes were built on these sites by the councils themselves some 16,111 new homes could be provided. This figure could increase fourfold to more than 64,400 new properties if four storey apartment blocks were built on viable sites.
London needs to deliver more homes to meet demand
London, like most areas in the UK, is in the throes of a housing shortage. The London Assembly estimates between 49,000 and 80,000 new homes are needed each year to meet projected population growth in the capital over the next decade. However, London is delivering less than half, and maybe only a quarter, of the new homes needed annually. Empty garages, were viable, could offer a solution to add more properties to London’s existing stock.
Dan Gandesha, CEO of Property Partner, said: “This is just a snapshot of publicly owned land in London which is clearly surplus to requirement, underused or undeveloped.
“When we have a crisis in affordable housing not just in the capital but in the UK, it begs the question whether councils in Britain should either sell off the land for development or build new homes themselves.
“If a significant number of council garages, which are part of housing estates, are not even rented to those who should have a right to them – local authority tenants – then it could be argued that this is a wasted opportunity.
“But there’s an even bigger opportunity here to ameliorate the severe shortfall in housing stock. Consider how much land Transport for London, Network Rail, the NHS, the Ministry of Defence and other government departments and agencies own.
“In the face of a residential property shortage, the former head of the UK Civil Service Lord Kerslake described this as one of the ‘biggest public policy failures of the last fifty years’.
“Although, making better use of underused council garages is not the absolute solution, it could seriously help alleviate the capital’s affordable housing crisis.
“London’s mayor Sadiq Khan has publicly stated housing is a key issue for him and says he’s working closely with ‘partners’ to ensure more affordable homes are built on empty public land.
“This is very welcome news and hopefully our research about garages will help in someway to stir councils into urgent action. We full heartedly welcome his promise to invest – with support from government – more than £3bn to help start build 90,000 affordable homes by 2021.”
The research also revealed that on average only 45 per cent of garages rented out are let to council tenants. The London Borough of Brent had the highest figures here, with just one in 10 of its lock up garages rented to its own tenants. Conversely, Lewisham, which has 90 per cent (1,920) occupancy of its garages rents 94 per cent to council tenants.
