MORE than 60 per cent of empty office space will be protected from a fast-track conversion into homes, if the borough council gets its way.
Government plans to relax planning laws, allowing vacant offices to be converted to residential use without change of use permission, are expected to come in this summer.
But Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has applied for Redhill and Reigate – which both have numerous multistorey blocks lying empty – to be exempt from the change.
The latest statistics on office space in the borough showed 44,000sq m of it was vacant, of which more than 62 per cent is in Redhill and Reigate – an area equivalent to 363 average-sized new homes.
But Mike Miller, borough cabinet member for planning, said it was important to retain that office space in the borough's core towns.
"We have responded to the Government's consultation on this and we don't have an objection, but we don't want it in either Reigate or Redhill," he said.
"We need to keep business space available, we can't let it all go or we will be in trouble in the future."
But he said it was appropriate to convert empty offices in Horley – which has more than 8,000sq m of empty space – because it had lost out to Crawley as a commercial hub and airlines had moved out.
"If they are not needed for offices, why leave them as empty buildings?" said Mr Miller.
"But we are looking to completely regenerate Redhill and once we start to get development, with shops, a cinema, restaurants, hotels, you will see that a lot of big businesses will want to come in to the town.
"If in two years' time I want to change my mind, I will have the option."
Sarah Finch, Green Party borough councillor in Redhill East, said: "In the case of Redhill, there is a vast amount of empty offices and a severe shortage of homes so this would be a welcome policy in the town centre.
"While we need to protect some for when the economy recovers and jobs are created, I think it is a brilliant idea to convert other offices, and when we are talking about having to build on the green belt, I think people would find that far preferable.
"But I do think the planning laws are there for a good reason, and I don't think they should be trifled with.
"I wouldn't want conversion of offices to homes to be a blanket policy."
The borough council has not yet had a reply to its request to exempt Reigate and Redhill from the planning law changes.
