please empty your brain below

The ground floor is sacrificial space for when global warming floods London and forces us all to move upstairs.
Because people don't like living in ground floor flats?
There's a new block in Leyton which was initially built with a shop unit at ground floor, used as a marketing suite - then when all the flats were sold, it was converted into a flat. Presumably this was the plan all along, but it was quite nicely done.
(The other end of the site has another shop unit which is turning into a Sainsbury's Local, which I guess is the kind of shop these empty spaces are designed for.
It's more often to do with local planning policy - the give away in your article was that the previous development had shops at ground floor and hence it is likely that planning policy required it to be replicated in the new development.

Many councils are incredibly slow to redesignate land uses hence government policy that allows conversion of office space to residential space without requiring planning permission.

In addition councils have to undertake retail capacity studies which are done by consultants that always state more retail space is needed. In reality retail sales through conventional stores has been static for more than a decade and we actually need a cull of retail space as witnessed by empty shops all over London.
Presumably the owner (whoever that may be) is not willing to drop the rent to a price that someone actually wants to rent the space for.

Plan to turn it into flats in the future when it can be shown there is no demand for shops that were integral to the planning permission?
£12500 might not appear much cf commercial rent, but I think a lot of small independent traders would have difficulty generating that much profit let alone finding the rent in these out of the way locations.
As you're posting about something architectural, I thought it was relevant to mention that you've just been included as one of Jason Kottke's 50 'The web’s best hidden gems'. I'm not sure how well acquainted he is as his description is 'A lovely blog about trains and architecture in Great Britain.', but he's right about the first bit. Here's the link: http://kottke.org/17/04/the-webs-best-hidden-gems
Even in supermarket terms, we have probably reached 'peak shop', perhaps in a wealthy area a bespoke outlet could survive/be viable - think Crouch End, but a ground floor flat opening directly onto the street is probably the least desirable type, perhaps the creation of a micro privacy area to create a buffer with the pavement would make them more desirable.

Perhaps the developer and the relevant council are both engaged in wishful thinking, hoping the space will be let and it becomes an income stream.
Ground floor flats require outdoor space so that makes them more difficult to design. It's rare to see new private blocks with flats on the ground floor so if you do see them they are almost always social housing. As for replacing existing commercial units the rents of the new units generally make them unaffordable to existing small businesses which are already struggling.
The Mayor's Housing Guidance specifically advocates ground floor flats to have front doors onto the street, to ensure active frontage.

All main entrances to houses, ground floor flats and communal entrance lobbies should be visible, clearly identifiable, and directly accessible from the public realm.
The block in Leyton I mentioned does have a small amount of defensible space out front - just a wall and some shrubbery - but I suppose not being able to build right up to the boundary does reduce the available floor space for the whole block.
I'm somewhat surprised that a landlord would keep some units vacant for the best part of 10 years.

Presumably there are already enough banks, estate agents, coffee shops, pound shops, and charity shops nearby? The big supermarkets and their local/express/whatever chains have destroyed many of the independent groceries and corner shops, the Westfield can't be too far away for a big retail experience, and it looks like takeaway food is covered in the immediate vicinity too... so what else might work here? A juice bar? What kinds of shops were in the old parade before it was cleared?
I may be seriously dim but re DG's 08.14 comment why ever does a ground floor flat need to have a 'visible, clearly identifiable, and directly accessible' entrance. The non ground floor flats obviously can't and from a security point of view surely the ground floor occupant would prefer an entrance off the general lobby. The point about outside space by 'Ganching' is well made. Both factors must make ground floor flats less attractive to occupy and to design so presumably these are factors leading to the currently unused commercial space at ground floor level?
Developers would love to add more flats as it is more profitable but are prevented from doing so by the petty bureaucracy of local planning departments.
The ground floor commercial units in the block on the corner of Warton Road have recently had the shuttering removed and been fitted with windows. Any idea what that is to be?
Matchmakers Wharf in Homerton is another good example of commercial space that to this day remains empty, despite being a condition of the planning permission.

I understand a large swathe of it is now finally being converted into residential units, but ones that directly face on to the busy road outside.
I was at a talk by an architecture studio who specifically work up tenders for "demolish estate and rebuild" (see Heygate) and instead pitch for "renovate estate". One of the big things they were saying is that if you only provide housing, you don't give any other reason to visit the area so it just becomes a place you sleep. So the first thing they would do with a failing estate is to strip out the ground floor and put in shops and schools and community spaces and anything else that they could do to make this an area to stay in. I would think the problems with these spaces you've noticed are landlords charging too much and not actively pursuing good or interesting use of the space.
There were some flats near my old house at Merton Abbey Mills market that went empty for about ten years after being built.

The problem was ultimately was that the units were priced far too high for rental compared to the other space that was available. And no one seemed to care that the units were empty.

Eventually they put them up for sale. Only then did anyone take them up on the offer.
A good use for these things is a co-work space. Done 'on the cheap' it gives work space, brings jobs to the area for small companies, and adds life and people. Often they come with a cafe too.

It's really just a sign of the demise of the physical business.
A ground floor flat doesn't seem appealing - you wouldn't be able to open the windows due to the pollution and security issues. With some flats so close to pavements (and lack of shrubs) you would also have to contend with pedestrians knocking/ banging on your windows and having a good look inside.
A lot has to do with planning, as these areas were mostly commercial and the councils must ensure that commercial units are still available within the local area.
Presumably, however, ground floor flats are extremely attractive to those with mobility/access challenges. I don't know how many of those struggle to find somewhere in London, but there are advantages as well as disadvantages to the ground floor. (I've just spent a couple of weeks with a major leg injury, so my modest 1-floor climb to my flat has looked a lot less friendly for a little while.)
The most frequent use for the obligatory office/retail ground floors in the new speckledy brick flats being built near us is for child care and day nurseries, with jolly names like 'Banana Moon'. And very popular they are.

Having said that, neither these nor functioning ground floor offices provide a particularly 'active' frontage, as they tend to cover their plate glass windows with 'ground glass' plastic sheeting to stop people seeing inside.

As others have suggested, this is a planning dodge to build housing on land hitherto zoned as 'mixed use'. We have a proposed 12 story block nearby, which many are objecting to, and which could be substantially lower if they just did away with the obligatory non-residential ground floor. As it is, the developers clearly have to show willing for a few years and then, when they can prove there's no demand, get permission to convert the ground floor to residential after all.
I am so pleased you've picked up on this. There is so much of this ridiculous waste going on. New flats in E17 in Fulborne Road, on Billet Rd and now near Blackhorse Road Tube all have acres of (almost) empty retail space. There is one occupied unit with a gym at Fulborne Rd and a Co-op has opened in one space at Billet Road. Quite why any more shops are needed at Blackhorse Lane is beyond me as there is a reasonable set of local shops and businesses that have been "refreshed" externally with local council funding.

It's just a complete waste of time and money. I assume the lack of take up is mostly down to ludicrous rents plus shop fitting costs that no small business or start up could ever hope to cover. Let's hope the existing local shops and cafes manage to survive - it's bad enough that Waltham Forest has been invaded by Tesco "metro" local shops all over the place. We don't need any more such nonsense.
It would make more sense for the ground floor of these flats to be used for residents parking rather than as unwanted and empty areas for shops to (not) use..
This is inner London. We don't do cars.
Certainly in Merton flats in areas close to good public transport are mandated as car free and residents of such developments are not allowed parking permits if parking locally is permit controlled.

Ground floor parking would also never be plentiful enough to cater for demand. No, if you want to park a car, don't​ live on a high street.
It's the same on the way into Stratford after the flyover - there's a Tesco Express in one of the units now but the vast majority are still sitting empty five years after the Olympics
Do not know if these particular areas are as affected by this, but have heard that the large % of foreign buyers that purchase flats in London as a way to harbor cash has caused neighborhood service shops such as dry cleaners, etc to not be able to stay in business. Foreign buyers purchase the homes and never occupy them. Could be what is going on here.
They are "future-proof"...as the space will be required for the robots that will make all our lives easier. I remember that along with the computers, was how the future was going to be.
Some of the more sophisticated developers - Berkeley springs to mind - make a decent effort to let the retail space and attract some restaurants or trade, to make the developments feel more alive and keep later stages selling. They key sign of this set is that they will fit it out to a basic standard (windows, tiled floor, lighting etc) before putting it up for rent.

The 'shell units' in DG's photos - essentially just a dark concrete space - are a sign of a really poor effort, they mean any new tenant has to spend a small fortune on the first fit out of someone else's property before making any income; even with a long rent-free period it's a huge gamble and means only deep-pocketed tenants like Sainsbury's could ever realistically take these on.
The design principles under discussion here aren't so different to what I saw when I thought I'd take a look around the Ferrier Estate at Kidbrooke (built in 1968) once it became known it was due for demolition and redevelopment.
Retail units were included there, too, but my memory is that not many of them were occupied.
http://www.kidbrookekite.co.uk/2010/10/ferrier-estate-october-2010.html
One of your blocks is an ex-pub. There's a relatively new trick amongst those companies who are buying up and closing down pubs for redevelopment: their application says they'll keep a bar downstairs, they re-advertise it as such for a huge rent that no landlord could make viable, then they say there was no interest and turn the pub into a flat, as they'd always planned. This can take them a couple of years to work through. For examples see the London CAMRA magazine, London Drinker, free in many pubs around town.
Graham - I can point you to a pub where they didn't even do that. "Yes we will have a pub on the ground floor.". And as soon as planning permission was granted, they immediately - within days - announced it was going to be a Sainsburys. Didn't even pretend that wasn't the plan all along. And because there is little to stop it happening in planning law, that was that.

It annoyed me no end because it was obvious from the start. So obvious I mentioned it in my submission to the original planning application. They were converting a pub and they proposed changing the layout of the pub getting rid of all the kinks and quirks that pubs have but supermarkets don't.

Scumbags the lot of then.










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