Office space - especially now - is vital for Putney's economy

In an earlier post I outlined the three big concerns I have about the Tileman House planning application. These were:

1. Height
2. Loss of office space
3. Housing - too much and not enough of it affordable

I'm going to talk a little about the second of these, because it is an issue that often gets overlooked. I've written before about the concerted attempt by developers to keep office blocks in Putney empty for years, so that they can exploit another Tory planning loophole that allows them to change the use of the buildings after a period of time into much more lucrative housing.

Tileman House is the classic example of this. The office part of the building has been empty for years - I can't actually remember the last time it was occupied. The only use made of the building in recent years has been the occupation of 19 residential flats.

In recent years Putney has become far more dependent on restaurants and cafes, while losing the wide range of shops and market stalls it used to benefit from. Many of these food and drink outlets depend on the lunch trade which in large part is made up of those who work in Putney's office blocks.

The parts of the country weathering the current bad economic conditions the best are those that have a diverse jobs base drawing equally from different sectors of the economy. The Conservatives locally are pursuing the diametric opposite of that sensible, pragmatic policy: reducing the diversity of Putney and, in so doing, weakening the remaining sectors such as our food and drink outlets.

One of the reasons we so urgently need a plan for Putney - other than the need to stop the slew of high-rise overdevelopment - is to close the loophole that's allowing this loss of office space and threatening our economy. We can all see how damaging the lack of a plan for Putney is: our High Street remains a disgrace, the lack of diversity in our shops is ridiculous and the empty shops that have for years been evident in the High Street itself are now spreading into Putney Exchange for the first time.

The Conservatives lack any vision for Putney and any local leadership to provide it.