The British Property Federation (BPF) has called for the emerging modern industrial strategy Invest 2035 to reflect the critical role that commercial and residential property has to play in facilitating economic growth.
Growth can only be delivered through an integrated approach stimulating investment into the UK property sector and linking planning reform and other major growth strategies including housing and infrastructure.
In its consultation response on the modern industrial strategy green paper, the BPF offered the full support of the UK property sector for the Government’s objective of “fixing the foundations” of the UK economy.
The right buildings in the right locations with the right supporting infrastructure including homes are the foundation of economic activity, and growth cannot be delivered unless the industrial strategy reflects this.
The BPF has also reiterated the significant contribution that property makes to the UK economy, delivering £110bn in GVA to the UK economy each year( more than 5% of the UK total) and supporting 2.5 million jobs.
In addition to underpinning economic activity generally, the BPF has laid out in its response how property is essential to support the high growth sectors identified within the green paper, such as life sciences, professional and financial services and advanced manufacturing.
The BPF notes that despite UK’s world-leading strengths in RDI within life sciences, the country is currently failing to fully to capitalise on this strong position because of a lack of new laboratories , “scale-up” facilities and infrastructure.
Alongside this the BPF has highlighted the need for logistics to also be considered as a prominent “foundational” sector. Logistics developers and owners provide the critical industrial warehouse space necessary for advanced manufacturing, creative industries and the data centres that increasingly underpin the financial, professional and business sectors.
The BPF is clear that Invest 2035 can only be delivered by an integrated approach encompassing industrial strategy housing delivery, devolution, taxation policy and the delivery of new infrastructure including energy generation and connectivity. In addition, the Government’s planning reforms will be critical to removing barriers and creating more investible development opportunities.
Melanie Leech, Chief Executive, British Property Federation, said: “The property sector underpins every part of our lives and businesses cannot grow and drive a strong economy unless they have fit-for-purpose modern facilities and the workers they rely on can find homes for their families.
“There are billions of pounds potentially available to invest in UK property of all types – from state-of-the-art research facilities to high value manufacturing to new homes, and we call on the Government to work with us to unlock this investment to deliver Invest 2035 and thriving communities across the country.”
