More than 400 public buildings in London lie empty

More than 400 publicly-owned buildings in London are currently lying empty amid a housing shortage and a lack of community spaces, according to a new report, writes Joe Talora, Local Democracy Reporter.

The report from Green Party London Assembly Member and former London mayoral candidate Sian Berry found that there were 442 “dead spaces” across 25 London boroughs, with the number potentially rising to almost 800 across the whole capital.

There are an average of 24 empty units per borough, meaning there could be 781 abandoned publicly-owned buildings in London.

Among the facilities that are currently lying empty are 80 retail units, 66 industrial units and 65 offices, while the report also revealed that there were several disused community meeting rooms, play spaces and schools.

Assembly Member Berry has called on the Mayor of London and central Government to “empower local people, councils and charities to take these spaces over” through funding and new legislation.

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