The good news around the economy needs to be transformed into positive action in the market place, according to one of Bristol’s leading commentators on the commercial property scene.
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics confirmed what many economic commentators have been suggesting for several months; that the UK is finally moving out of recession. The growth follows other positive signs including an improvement in the housing market and retail sector as well as a healthier jobs market over the last quarter.
Philip Morton, Head of Agency and Development at CBRE Bristol, has welcomed these signs of recovery and is now looking for a pick-up in the commercial property market. He said: “It is great to see a marked improvement in the economy and after five years of recession it seems that we are finally moving in the right direction. But despite the good news there is still more to be done to drive the commercial property market back to life in Bristol.
“Of course, there have been some encouraging signs and rental levels have been maintained in the city as a result of the lack of available Grade A office space. The fact that Bristol’s first speculative developments in several years at 66 Queen Square and Glass Wharf at Temple Quarter are going ahead should also be seen as a positive sign, but there is still a long way to go before we get back to the levels seen in the years before the recession.”
According to commentators, one of the signs of a healthy economy is the number of development schemes taking place. There are plans for major residential developments in Bristol such as the regeneration of the General Hospital on the Harbourside, but there is little sign of any major city centre office schemes going ahead.
Philip Morton added: “Bristol is one of the best placed cities in the UK to take full advantage of the economic recovery thanks to the efforts of the Local Enterprise Partnership and elected mayor George Ferguson. What we need now is some major schemes moving forward and the big players returning to the market.
“When the demand starts to return from the big firms then there will be a need to build. We are not out of the woods just yet and we can only really start talking about green shoots and recovery when we start to see the cranes appearing back on the Bristol skyline.”
