THERE is a serious glut of empty office space in the heart of Richmond, Cllr Rodney Bennett told the council in a special debate at its meeting on Tuesday.

Cllr Bennett, a South Richmond ward councillor, said: "I recently took a walk around the town centre to examine the situation and in less than an hour I counted over 25 to let signs above office premises. These varied from substantial purpose built buildings to smaller premises, many above shops."

He added: "It is not clear why this should be when despite a Labour government the economy is in fair shape. A factor may be the change in the nature of office work itself, with more use of computers, remote answering stations and home working. However empty premises can deteriorate rapidly and do no one any good."

Cllr Bennett acknowledged the need for a balance between work homes and work opportunities but called for a flexible approach to change of use, particularly where premises may not always have been an office.

He told the meeting that he had recently been contacted by an office owner who had had premises on the market for two years.

He said: "When a serious offer from a firm wishing to relocate in Richmond came along, it was plagued by a petty argument over a garage door. This just does not help."

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