I feel compelled to respond to Stephen Neish’s opinion piece in the Gibraltar Chronicle on Tuesday 6th March 2018 in which he criticised the forthcoming Eurocity development. The article cites the fact that it’s “not good news for locals” and that it’s aimed at “high net worth individuals” who will “probably not live there”. Stephen laments the fact that the “supine” DPC didn’t stop the development when it had the chance. Stephen’s not alone in this view, his opinion is often expressed on social media. My view is different, my view is that Gibraltar’s economic success which benefits locals as much as everyone else, relies upon a swathe of employees who need housing.

Firstly, I must declare my conflict. I am managing director of Chestertons Estate Agents and Chestertons has acted as development consultant on the Eurocity project which achieved planning consent in July 2017 and is due for release in April 2018. But this article is not just about Eurocity, it’s about how Gibraltar copes with the economic growth it has worked hard to achieve.

In 2002 there were 14,000 jobs in Gibraltar. Today, the number of jobs is some 27,500, an increase of 13,500 in employment levels in sixteen years. In the same period the population has grown from 28,500 to 33,500, an increase of 5,000.

A significant number of jobs are fulfilled by non-Gibraltarian workers who are effectively forced to live in Spain due to the scarcity of available and /or affordable open market property in Gibraltar. Some 13,000 workers cross the border with Spain each day to work in Gibraltar. Half of these are non-Spanish. It is generally accepted that a significant proportion of these 6,500 remaining workers would live in Gibraltar if there was suitable property and / or more affordable property.

Government has a successful social housing programme for eligible citizens which has allowed many locals to own, and profit from, their own home. Meanwhile, the wealthy can afford property in Gibraltar. But who is looking after the thousands of Gibraltar employees who are ineligible for government housing and not wealthy enough to buy or rent property in Gibraltar? The thousands forced to live in Spain or squeeze into their parent’s home?

If we do not build homes for the ever increasing number of employees Gibraltar attracts, Gibraltar will suffer in two ways. Firstly, prices of existing properties will continue to outpace inflation, becoming even more unaffordable for the majority. Secondly, companies will risk assess establishing in Gibraltar and question whether they can afford to have 70% or more of their workforce in Spain with the border complexity and uncertainty. Malta is much cheaper property wise and has no border issues. There is no divine obligation for companies to move to or remain in Gibraltar. People and capital are the most mobile than at any time in history and If we do not look after and house the huge number of staff who work in our key industries, we may eventually lose them. Everyone living in Gibraltar enjoys the economic benefits that these industries and their staff bring, we must protect them, not drive them into Spain.

Many of Gibraltar’s employees would love to live in Gibraltar, where they work, where many of their friends are, where they pay their taxes, where they contribute to society. Many of Gibraltar’s employers are concerned that many of their staff are across the border, a foreign land, which will most likely become more complex not less complex once Brexit is sorted.

The alternative to property development is to abandon the policy of successive governments, which is to push for economic growth. In which case expect significant falls in PAYE, corporation tax, import duty, stamp duty, closure of local businesses, an increase in unemployment, a reduction in the civil service, higher taxes, increased borrowing, a reduction in subsidies and a loss of some of the wonderful social benefits we take for granted in Gibraltar.

Assuming economic growth remains the strategy, then the debate should turn to, how do we house the ever increasing number of employees we attract to Gibraltar in a way which locals can support? That’s the challenge. We are not alone in this challenge. Just last week Theresa May stated in respect of the UK property market “This crisis of unaffordability is also creating a crisis of almost literal social immobility. The point is that successive governments have not built enough homes - as a result prices have risen and risen and so many people are locked out of the market."

Mr Javid, UK Secretary of State for Housing, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme last week: "How we make housing properly affordable for everyone is by building a lot more. Far too many councils … are not planning the right number of homes because it is a 'Nimbyist' attitude. That is not acceptable." The DPC is not following the Nimbyism attitude.

So what should be built?

Firstly, in my opinion, we must build affordable homes in the open market. Studios offer the opportunity for key workers to take their first step onto the housing ladder with a living space that is affordable because it is smaller. These apartments allow many of Gibraltar’s non-resident employees to make Gibraltar their home, with the economic benefit to Gibraltar PLC in shops, bars, restaurants and local services. Many employees are willing to prioritise location over space, Gibraltar over Spain, their own home over the spare room at their parent’s house.

Secondly, we should applaud developments like Eurocity which create new amenity spaces for everyone. Many developments take a piece of land, build upon it and only the residents benefit from that land. The site of Eurocity is currently used by about 180 private cars. In three years’ time there will be a stunning retail and commercial centre for the whole of Gibraltar to enjoy. Cafes, bars, a new local shopping facility and open spaces for everyone. A new pleasant walk-through between Europort Avenue and Europort Road will be created. In the first building to be released next month, 80 of the 143 apartments (56%) are priced below the stamp duty threshold of £260,000 for first and second time buyers. 122 of the 143 apartments (85%) are below £400,000. And residents can enjoy beautiful pools and gardens the size of Casemates. Plus there are 350 parking spaces, about double what there is now.

Thirdly, we may have to accept that tall buildings are more efficient on land use than small buildings. Our finite resource is land. Housing people on 20 floors taking up 400 square metres of land and providing an additional 400 sq metres of land for local amenities is potentially more beneficial than 10 floors taking up the entire 800 square metres of land.

In my opinion, the “supine” DPC knew what they were doing and approved this project because it was an enhancement to the local area, a contribution to Gibraltar’s housing problem and because Eurocity gives something back to the community.

The arguments put forward to criticise this development were also used 15 years ago when Ocean Village was first conceived. Today, Ocean Village serves as an amenity space to a significant number of locals who use the bars, restaurants, amenities and enjoy a Sunday stroll. These are the type of developments to be encouraged to help solve the housing problem. And the more property that is built, the more opportunity there is for non-home owners to own, non-residents already paying their taxes in Gibraltar to become residents of Gibraltar and the economy to remain at near zero unemployment.

Gibraltar may morph into a Monaco if we allow property prices to increase unchecked. Alternatively, Gibraltar could abandon its economic growth strategy with a resulting material loss of benefits to every sector in society. But in my opinion, it should continue its migration to a vibrant, successful, socially cohesive, highly trained community with benefits to all of its citizens. We just have to accept that property development underpins this growth. Eurocity style developments, where existing space is enhanced for all and a wide range of properties are priced as affordable in the open market, represent a positive solution to Gibraltar’s housing problem. If we do not build more homes, I can imagine the headline in years to come “Gibraltar leads the world in fintech and block chain technology – but don’t bother – you can’t actually live there.” It’s all very well criticising the construction of new property, but what’s the plan if we don’t?

This article appeared in the Gibraltar Chronicle on 14 March 2018

The public launch of Eurocity is due for 5th May 2018.  All enquiries Chestertons as the Eurocity master agent.