Lambeth Council will expand planning rules to slow commercial to residential conversions, in an attempt to keep work spaces and attract creative industries to the borough.

This comes as as part of the cabinet’s creative and digital industries strategy for growth.

Lambeth Council brought in planning rules to try and prevent conversion from commercial space into residential space in Clapham and parts of Brixton through what is called an article four direction.

This followed losses of work space in the borough since 2007, a council officer said.

He said it was possible for the planning department to extend article four directions across the borough.

“There have been substantial net loses of work space in the borough since 2007. The council has introduced  two more article four directions for certain key industrial business areas in the borough  – so parts of Clapham and part of Brixton,” he said.

“One of the benefits of the strategy and the research that’s under pinned it is it provides evidence and material that the planning team can use for further article four directions potentially in other parts of the borough.

“North of the borough is where substantial amounts of commercial space are but what we have seen is losses in those areas and areas like in Streatham,” he said.

Cabinet member for planning and investment councillor Matthew Bennett said the strategy would draw upon the creative talent in the borough in an effort to “move us forward economically.”

Creative industries create jobs four times as quickly as the wider economy in the UK.

“We have the privilege to live in and represent one of the most diverse places in this country, possibly the world,” he said.

“We have got the largest Portuguese  community outside of Portugal, and the largest Somali community outside of Somalia. And we are, as we have been conscious over the last few weeks, the historic homes of Britain’s Caribbean community.

“Lambeth has the largest LGBT plus community in the country. And if you look at our creative and digital sector, we have the national institutions on the Southbank, two of the countries biggest media institutions in the British Film Institution and ITV,” he said.