Worcestershire’s no wasteland: Our economic recovery post-pandemic
As a commercial cleaning company, our business is at the heart of the commercial property market. As such, I read with interest this year’s Worcestershire Commercial Property Market Report written in collaboration with Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). It is an unbiased data report that discusses the state of the commercial property market and what this means for Worcestershire’s economic recovery post-pandemic. GJS Dillon, the writer, and Worcestershire LEP’s Gary Woodman have also released a helpful discussion video about their findings.
In March last year, we faced such uncertainty as a commercial cleaning business and there was so much fear within the business community. This report acknowledges that it has been twelve months like no other, but that businesses should be hopeful about the future, especially within the county of Worcestershire.
We can relate to much of what this report has outlined and in particular three things that give us great hope for the future:
1. Commercial business is in recovery
The report showed that whilst industrial units have remained resilient, office units have taken a hit. Lots of companies have needed to downscale as a result of the Pandemic. They still need spaces for collaboration, even though many are utilising more flexible working patterns, and so have turned to the smaller-sized units that Worcestershire has in abundance.
2. Great connectivity
Our county is at the heart of Great Britain, our own unit is well placed between the M42 and M5, which run right through the county, giving ease of access to the whole of the UK. Whilst there is controversy surrounding the construction of HS2, there is no denying it will enable businesses to have better connectivity with eight of the UK’s largest cities. Birmingham and Bristol airports also serve our county well for travel further afield.
The report indicates that businesses and individuals are wanting to move to Worcestershire for a balance of urban and rural lifestyle. This means a greater pool of potential employees for business owners to choose from.
3. A range of commercial property
Due to the new developments on land adjacent to the motorway junctions, there are now larger industrial units available to supplement the smaller units that many start-up businesses prefer.
The LEP highlighted that for those businesses wanting a city centre location, city centre office space is being utilised well. Although retail was not within the scope of the report, they noted that the high street has robustly held up despite the demise of many national chains over the last year.
Covid hasn’t killed Worcestershire!
This report has given me confidence that the business sector will see sustained recovery and the fantastic business community within Worcestershire will continue to adapt and respond to change. We want to keep providing an honest reliable quality cleaning service for your office or commercial property. If you are interested in any of our services, please contact us for more information.