A case study of industrial property development in South Hampshire

Abstract

An underlying assumption in the literature of industrial property development is that the market responds effectively to development pressures in areas of economic growth by providing the amount and type of industrial premises required. A case study of the industrial market in South Hampshire, one of the five growth areas designated in the South East in the 1970s, showed that the market undersupplied traditional industrial sheds in the late 1980s and early 1990s, despite a sufficient amount of industrial land. Competing uses and unsuitability of industrial land featured as the prime reasons explaining this undersupply. Underprovision of small units emerged as another problematic area. Small-unit projects are considered risky by private developers and the involvement of the public sector, even in a high-growth area, is necessary. On the other hand, the local market did not experience an oversupply of B1 and high-tech units, suggesting that the development industry monitored market trends in South Hampshire before embarking on the development of this type of industrial projects.