Sheffield's empty office space: bad for the city?

[Olive]

It's a funny one - seems to be lots of office space available, yet it seems that companies have trouble finding office space that suits their needs. I'm basing this on conversations I've had with Creative Sheffield, and on the experience of the company my partner works for who were looking to move offices last year.

[tzijlstra]

Sheffield has a shortage of prime office space. Saville House certainly does not qualify as such. Of the companies I know that encourage working from home it is because they don't have enough space, not because they want to reduce the amount of space they use.

 

There are plenty of companies that want to move to nice new shiny offices, particularly around the station, but can't, because there isn't the room to. BNP Paribas issued a notice on the situation in 2013

[Olive]

Sheffield has a shortage of prime office space. Saville House certainly does not qualify as such. Of the companies I know that encourage working from home it is because they don't have enough space, not because they want to reduce the amount of space they use.

 

There are plenty of companies that want to move to nice new shiny offices, particularly around the station, but can't, because there isn't the room to. BNP Paribas issued a notice on the situation in 2013

 

Yeah, that's what my Other Half's company ended up doing - staying put and encouraging more working at home.

 

What do you suppose constitutes "prime" or even "truly prime" office space?

Edited July 29, 2016 by Olive

[CockneyMafia]

Sheffield has a shortage of prime office space. Saville House certainly does not qualify as such. Of the companies I know that encourage working from home it is because they don't have enough space, not because they want to reduce the amount of space they use.

 

There are plenty of companies that want to move to nice new shiny offices, particularly around the station, but can't, because there isn't the room to. BNP Paribas issued a notice on the situation in 2013

 

How are they defining 'Prime Office Space'? Is there a universal standard? Where would such space be in Sheffield?

 

I worked for a global company in London that downsized their office space from three floors to one floor to cut costs while retaining the same number of staff. Without a flexible home working policy, I doubt this move would have been possible.

[Flexo]

How are they defining 'Prime Office Space'?

 

As a pleasant space to be?

 

An awful lot of the office stock is quite grim and has bad thermal characteristics - too cold in winter and too hot in summer.

[CockneyMafia]

As a pleasant space to be?

 

Which is ferociously subjective.

 

Of all the land available in Sheffield, I wonder where the most desirable office plot would be?

[Bob Arctor]

What I want to know is what are all the hotels catering for??

 

A mixture of business and leisure, like all hotels.

[spilldig]

It surprises me the amount of empty office space here too, but do the council charge any rates ? I really don't know but surely if the council do charge rates then I would nave thought they would have been converted to flats by now, or demolished.

[crookedspire]

I find it strangely fastening to see all these new builds office blocks dotted about awaiting their first tenants. Even seen some with a lone security guard sat at the front desk bored to tears. More blocks are planned for West Bars.

[Anna B]

It's not just empty office space, but the derelict industrial space that bights the city.

I'd like to see it all pulled down and grassed over to make it into parkland until something useful can be found to do with it.

 

But underlying it all, Sheffield needs proper, family sustaining, jobs more than anything.