A 25 per cent surge in inquiries compared with the first quarter of last year is very encouraging, according to Redditch business property agent John Truslove.
Particularly encouraging are the signs that the market for factories appears to be on the up, meaning that manufacturers may be taking a more expansive view of their growth prospects.
John Truslove said: “The Cresta Run of 2007 proved once and for all that real estate is not always a constantly rising market, and this was particularly true of the industrial sector.
“But there are positive signs that people are being more realistic in their pricing and that manufacturers are finding the confidence to expand. The market is clearly better than it has been for three or four years, and we just hope that a 25 per cent rise in inquiries turns into something similar in terms of completed deals.”
But he sounded a word of caution over the Budget and the lack of any ongoing support for manufacturing.
“It seems the Cameron government is happy to support their old school chums in the banks and other financial institutions that got us into this mess, but support for a sector of the economy that provides real earnings, real jobs and real growth prospects is sadly lacking.
“The grants system seems akin to the Philosopher’s Stone – many have heard of it, but few have seen it.
“The Budget provided no support for West Midlands industry and indeed may have actually left a lot of us worse off, particularly the lower paid.”
He said that other Government initiatives such as sending Mary Portas down the High Street to bring us a shopping renaissance had landed like a lead balloon on a retail sector that was struggling with problems rather deeper than window dressing.
“The solution is simple but no local council seems to have the initiative to take it on. We need to de-pedstrianise large tracts of town centres that have been paved over and bring cars back into town to encourage shoppers.
“If it is easy to drive right to the door of out-of-town shopping malls and giant hypermarkets, then why would you want to park up on the edge of town and have to walk in, with all the problems of carrying shopping back to your car.
“Councils need to de-pedestrianise the High Street, bring in a 20mph speed limit, put speed bumps in and provide hundreds of free, easy to access, parking bays where shoppers can park near the stores they want to visit, for up to an hour, to encourage people back into towns.”
He said Alcester was a good example of a thriving little shopping centre where shoppers could access the high street fairly easily.
“It helps that Alcester has a bypass and towns like Bromsgrove, with its long standing pedestrianised High Street, could learn from the Alcester example,” he said.
“We need to make it easier for people to buy and go – then they will come back into town centres.”