Empty offices cost city £200m in lost business
Exclusive: Fears for Belfast trade as just 5% of workers are back at their desks
ONLY 5% of office workers in the centre of Belfast have been able to safely return to their desks, threatening its economic recovery, according to a survey by the city’s chamber of commerce.
The low number of workers has had a devastating impact on city centre trade, with leading economist Esmond Birnie saying it could cost Belfast £200m. Belfast Chamber’s survey also indicated that 35% of city office workers are still performing their roles from home full-time.
Chief executive Simon Hamilton said the situation “is likely to get far worse before it gets better”. He added: “Achieving the safe return of office-based workers to Belfast is an essential ingredient in the recovery of our city’s economy that will assist in maintaining jobs and ensure that Belfast remains an attractive place to visit and invest in when the pandemic has passed.”
CONCERN is growing for the future of Belfast City Centre after a Chamber of Commerce survey suggested that only 5% of office workers there had returned to their desks.
The lack of workers has had a devastating impact on city centre trade, with one leading economist saying it could cost Belfast £200m. The figure for office workers was released by the Belfast Chamber, many of whose members claimed both footfall and sales have dropped by 50% since the pandemic began.
The survey also indicated that 35% of Belfast office workers are still performing their roles from home full-time, while a further 40% of businesses don’t anticipate a full return to the office until the end of the year at least.
A quarter of respondents said it will be 2021 before they return to the office on a full-time basis. Belfast Chamber chief executive Simon Hamilton said:
“We have already witnessed some of the devastation that the coronavirus pandemic has brought on our city centre with closures of stores like DW Sports and Eason’s, and job losses at Marks & Spencer, Debenhams and many others.
These survey results show that the situation is likely to get far worse before it gets better.
“Achieving the safe return of office-based workers to Belfast is an essential ingredient in the recovery of our city’s economy that will assist in maintaining jobs and ensure that Belfast remains an attractive place to visit and invest in when the pandemic has passed.”
Ulster University senior economist Esmond Birnie said the damage working from home has had on trading in the city centre could amount to £200m. He said:
“We’ve faced years of change in a matter of months and the economy has been given a tremendous kick.
This is a massive acceleration in change, some for the good but much for the worse.
If Belfast mirrors a general Ni-wide 10% output fall, then the city economy loses about £1.4bn in total for all reasons, lack of office workers being just one of these.”
In recent weeks the Executive announced that it would launch a High Street Task Force to combat issues faced by traders as a result of Covid-19.
Mr Hamilton said now was the time for Stormont to activate the task force.
“Our survey has once again revealed the serious and sustained impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had — and continues to have — on the Belfast economy.
“It is positive that after seeing so much of the city’s economy shutdown back in March, that only 4% of businesses remain closed but it is clear from these results that those who have reopened have done so in a very different environment than before Covid-19 struck.
“These survey results should also prompt our Executive to establish its proposed High Street Task Force as soon as possible and also consider how they can continue to support businesses in our city and town centres.”
Mr Hamilton said many employers would like to return to the office but current guidance from Stormont has been cited as a “barrier”.
He said the Executive should “permit a phased return to the office where this is safe and has been subject to the necessary risk assessments”.