What's the impact of a Labour government on the Commercial property sector?

Business Rates

One of the key promises from Labour has been to address business rates. Labour has committed to conducting a comprehensive review of the business rates system, aiming to make it more equitable and reflective of current market conditions.

This could potentially lead to reduced costs for many businesses, making commercial properties more attractive investments.

Sustainability

Labour has pledged to accelerate the transition to a green economy, which includes enhancing energy efficiency standards for commercial buildings. This will likely mean stricter regulations and incentives for property owners to upgrade their buildings to meet new environmental standards.

While this might entail initial costs, it could also result in long-term savings and increased property values due to improved energy efficiency.

Planning

To help deliver upon Labour’s target for growth, a new industrial strategy is proposed to ensure the planning system makes it easier to build laboratories, digital infrastructure and gigafactories, i.e. manufacturing facilities where components and products associated with electrification and decarbonisation technologies are produced.

The government will need to ensure local authorities have up-to-date local plans, encourage brownfield land to be developed first (nothing new there) and implement a new approach to ‘grey belt’ development.

To help deliver this, it plans to fund 300 more planning officers from a 1pc surcharge on stamp duty for non-UK residents. It must be careful this does not discourage foreign investment, however.

Social Equity

Labour’s commitment to social equity also includes supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs.) This could lead to a rise in demand for smaller commercial spaces, as new businesses and startups look for affordable premises.

So, although there are challenges, there are also substantial opportunities for growth and development.

As we navigate our way through these new policies, we at Brown&Co are dedicated to helping clients adapt and thrive in this evolving political landscape.

You can contact Rob Flint, Commercial Surveyor, Norwich, on 01603 629871.