As a multi-disciplinary consultancy, we know from experience of other economic recessions, at times like this property assets have to be put to work harder as:
- As businesses contract or new ones start, premises need, and home needs have to work in new ways.
- Over time many new sites and buildings can come forward for re-purposing, but their many change risks need evaluating.
- The value of historic properties invariably comes through if kept in good condition.
- Development projects designed for the old market will not work in this one.
- The public sector assumes new responsibilities as what the private sector can deliver is challenged.
- Research on socio-economic trends and changing models of living and working is important.
Our project history over 32 years of practice has equipped our diverse team to advise you on all such property and building matters.
Our projects for the public and major landowner sector often start with the data research and socio-economic analysis our team can provide. This has informed both corporate and planning policy writing. It is put to use in building regeneration and social equality programmes.
From here on it appears now many sectors of the economy may remain unviable for a period of 12 to 18 months, or more as COVID-19 vaccines and other risk reduction strategies come through to replace social distancing. We expect Local Authorities could have a big role to play in building and enabling an interim ”meanwhile economy” in these months beyond total lock down. If carefully planned such programmes could use the wealth of human capital now tied up in non-viable sectors like restaurants, travel and tourism, public sport and culture, and retail led high street activities to the common good.
There are so many things the virus experience has already taught us. We could be using this time to put so much to rights; in building better neighbourhoods, creating new models for the care of the elderly, for building natural bio-diversity; in doing all that is needed to get household energy use where it needs to be for Zero Carbon, in education for climate change.
Our recently published Tools for Climate Change document explores where our pre-COVID-19 lifestyles came from and how change happens.