Landscape Institute

Office Reduction Announcement

The Landscape Institute would like to update you on the forthcoming reduction in our current office space at 85 Tottenham Court Road London from October 31st, 2024. This was recently announced at the Advisory Council meeting and approved by the Board. We are to undertake a review of the office needs of the Landscape Institute (LI) to ensure value for money, better working culture and engagement with members and sustainability. 85 Tottenham Court Road will remain the registered office, and you can still contact us via all the usual channels at this address.

The size of the current office at Tottenham Court Road is no longer fit-for-purpose and by many measures, expensive. Therefore, staff will be working remotely from November 2024 onwards during this period of review. We will have in place a rolling and regular program of working together in person, either as departments or a full staff team and access for members to meet with staff at any Regus office.

Like other charities and organisations, the usage of office space has significantly reduced following the pandemic and remote working is significantly higher now. A survey by the London Chamber of Commerce in June of 520 business leaders revealed that among companies whose employees can work from home, half expected workers to work remotely – five days per week, even post-Covid.

As a result, many organisations are recognising the benefits of having a remote workforce. The Landscape Institute (LI) is no exception and over the past 4-5 years, we have seen an increase in the number of workers for whom being in an office 5 days a week is not compatible with their lifestyles and regular commuter journeys are both expensive and carry high sustainability impacts.

Hybrid working has created low occupation or empty offices which, with the current higher fixed costs of running a building, impact an organisation’s sustainability and social impact agendas. In addition, from our own consultations and research to date, we found that many staff would like to work in an organisation that accommodates hybrid working and improved work-life balance, leading to positive outcomes for both the long-term retention of staff and attracting new staff.

I am acutely aware that we have been missing opportunities for better productivity, and collaboration. By choosing a space wisely, we will create a stronger culture and working environment in alignment with our New Ways of Working.

Over the next 12 -18 months, we will continue to consult with staff and members to find the right space solution for the LI.

We will keep you all updated with progress but if you have any success stories then please get in touch at leadership@landscapeinstitute.org.