Just a quarter of London’s approved multi-storey industrial schemes have progressed to construction, despite two-thirds securing planning permission since 2021, according to new research from independent advisory firm Turley.
The findings show 67% of referable multi-level industrial schemes submitted in this period gained consent, but only 25% of those schemes - or 17% of the overall pipeline have progressed to construction.
With 24 schemes tracked across 12 London boroughs, the research demonstrates a commercial real estate offering gaining policy traction but facing clear barriers to market adoption.
Although schemes coming forward have delivered meaningful results, with the model capable of achieving an average 60% uplift in employment floorspace overall compared to existing provision, and a total of 83% of all schemes increasing their industrial capacity, it is currently still ‘up in the air’ as to how the lettings take-up is progressing.
The gap between approval and delivery points to a need for greater collaboration across the market. Caution around upper-floor accommodation, combined with significant additional construction costs for ramps, structural loading and goods lifts, means pre-let agreements are often essential to underwrite viability.
Catriona Fraser, Planning Director at Turley, said: “Multi-level industrial is proving it’s worth in a planning and policy objective sense – delivering substantial increases in employment floorspace where it comes forward. The challenge now is translating planning permissions into built development that supports thriving communities and economic growth.
“For that to happen, market confidence needs to build around shared ramps and yards, planning authorities need to ensure they’re not overburdening schemes with restrictive conditions, and developers must find practical ways for occupiers to operate without limitations on delivery times or booking slots, and not having that ‘front door’.
“With the Mayor targeting 88,000 new homes per year in the emerging London Plan, pressure on industrial land will only intensify. The solution isn’t mandating multi-level everywhere – it’s ensuring the London Plan supports this format in the right locations while recognising that different approaches may work better in certain sub-markets. This needs to be demand-driven and considered case-by-case, not a blanket approach.”
Turley’s research shows multi-level schemes are concentrated on Locally Significant Industrial Sites (50%) rather than Strategic Industrial Locations, with light industrial use (Class E(g)(iii)) comprising 35% of proposed floorspace. This reflects both the operational challenges of accommodating heavier industrial operations on upper floors and the planning reality of securing consent for lighter uses in residential-adjacent locations.
As the drive to meet the Government’s 1.5 million homes target intensifies competition for London’s remaining industrial sites, the research underscores a decisive moment for the capital. Whether multi-level industrial can mature from a planning concept into a widely adopted development format will depend on occupiers, developers and planning authorities working collaboratively to address the operational and viability barriers that currently separate permission from delivery.