London Assembly: Call for empty buildings to be put to use
- Published
More than 400 publicly owned buildings in London are currently lying empty, according to a new report.
Former mayoral candidate Sian Berry found there were 442 "dead spaces" across 25 London boroughs.
Among the facilities currently lying empty are 80 retail units, 66 industrial units and 65 offices.
The report, external found the majority had been empty for between one to three years although 13 have been empty for a decade and one for 16 years.
Schools, play spaces and community rooms are among the buildings not in use.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The London Assembly member said: "Londoners have told me they are acutely aware that community spaces and buildings in their local area are sitting empty. People have called these 'dead spaces' - a reflection of the strong feelings people have when they see this kind of wasted opportunity on their doorsteps.
"Across London, hundreds of community groups are crying out for easier ways to take over empty buildings."
During her 2021 London mayoral election campaign, Ms Berry pledged to set up a "People's Land Commission", which would support communities in finding suitable land for new homes, green spaces and community projects.
Following the publication of her report, Ms Berry urged London Mayor Sadiq Khan to adopt the idea in order to bring empty buildings back into public use.