By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
There are concerns that almost two thirds of the office space at Gloucester’s The Forum remains vacant.
An update on Gloucester City Council’s flagship King’s Quarter £115.1m regeneration project was given to councillors last night (April 27).
The prominent city centre landmark off Station Road houses a four star hotel, a 399-space car park and more than 106,000 square feet of office space.
However, questions were raised at the overview and scrutiny committee meeting about office occupancy levels and whether the amount planned for the building was still needed.
Labour group leader Terry Pullen (Moreland) said the office space was around 65 per cent vacant and 35 per cent let.
“Obviously, the office space is where most of the void is at the minute,” he said.
“Generally, it’s heading in the right direction. But the design and the concept of The Forum, going back to initial thinking, was pre-Covid.”
He went on to say Gloucester probably has more office space than necessary at the moment.
And he asked if the amount of office space in the Forum is more than needed “given the working from home culture”.
“When I go into the council offices in Eastgate Street, there are very few people there because people are working from home,” he added.
“Is it actually realistic that we can use the space that is allocated for office space [at the Forum] as office space or should we be looking at alternative use of that space, given the culture we are in now?”
Andy Hearne, who is the head of place at the City Council, said Cllr Pullen is right that the market has shifted on office space across the whole country.
However, he said the council has recognised that and has changed some of its planning around The Forum.
He explained that was the rationale for bringing Patch to the Forum who provide co-working space and serviced offices designed for hybrid workers and startups.
The original plan for that 17,000 sqft space was alternative uses with “a bit of office and a bit of gym”, Mr Hearne added.
“It offers that flexible working experience for those who do want to work from home but need a short term stay or smaller incubation small and medium-sized enterprises.”
He said that was done purposely to move with the market.
“Yes there are vacancies but up until now, Gloucester has not had premium office space.
“The Forum is premium office space but it’s at Gloucester rents.
“So actually if you are an aspiring business in the geography of this region and you want great office space and a great location then the Forum is exactly where you can be at a price that is affordable.”
Mr Hearne said the next 18 months will be interesting for the office market as a whole but he thinks the strategy for The Forum is the right one.
“I don’t think we need to be looking at alternative uses for that space just yet,” he said.
Peter Langley-Smith, managing director of the City Council’s development partners Reef, said they seeing a desire across the market is firms need to be in the very best places in order to attact the best talent.
“In that sense, I believe what we’ve delivered for The Forum is on point for where the corporate demand will come from and where people will want to relocate.”
“I wholeheartedly believe what we’ve delivered in the Forum.”
Cllr Pullen asked what set Gloucester and The Forum apart from anywhere else in the region.
“What’s the unique selling point in Gloucester that you are using to attract people to The Forum?”
Mr Langley-Smith said they repeatedly refer to the quality of the real estate and its environment.
“These buildings are absolutely market leading in terms of what they provide, whether that’s from a flexibility, adaptability, sustainability perspective,” he said.
“This is where corporately, you should be aligning yourself to a building of this quality.
He also said affordability comes into it.
“You are able to attract staff and no pay he rents that would be demanded in a Bristol or a comparable market.
“That perversely, is quite a challenging marketing spin in the sense you don’t want to advertise yourselves as a cheap alternative.
“But there is definitely some truth in that.”
Another selling point of The Forum is the young nature of Gloucester, the vibrant tech community and education institutions, he added.