Richmond upon Thames is a winner in the working from home revolution caused by the pandemic, according to a new study.

The borough has seen a net increase in the number of people working in the borough, which has been good news for local businesses, such as coffee shops and gyms.

At the same time, people working from home are also able to make savings on commuting during the cost of living crisis, while it allows greater flexibility between work, family and caring commitments.

Richmond Council, which is one of the borough's biggest employers, is responding by cutting back on the number of buildings it occupies and renting out space to other organisations.

Currently, there are a number of office developments in central Richmond sitting empty, while the future of the former House of Fraser store, which has planning permission for offices, remains in doubt amid an apparent difficulty in finding tenants.

Research by The Resolution Foundation shows a 44.4 per cent drop in travelling to the workplace by Richmond borough residents in 2022 compared to before the pandemic, which is the biggest fall in the country.

Nationally, around one-in-five workers report that they were 'mainly' working from home in early 2022, but the figure was a higher 25 per cent – one in four – in the borough.

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This represents a rise from around 14% before the pandemic and is one of the biggest shifts to home working in the UK.

The details come from the Resolution Foundation's report, 'Right where you left me', which is the result of a collaboration with the LSE and funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

The organisation said it 'examines the economic legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic on different places across the UK, with a particular focus on working patterns, housing costs and consumer demand'.

It said: "As well as experiencing the biggest shifts in the quantity of work, London has also been at the epicentre of the big shift towards remote working.

"The WFH revolution has had a bigger impact on individual workers and firms than local economies though, with much of the change taking place in the same local areas.

"For example, areas that are estimated to have 'gained' the most workers from residents working from home – such as Tower Hamlets, Islington, Manchester and Coventry – have also 'lost' the most workers from office staff staying at home."

By contrast, it said places like Richmond have seen a gain in home workers while not losing a number of people that would normally work from offices in the borough.

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The Foundation said: "The biggest net beneficiaries from the WFH revolution – areas that are estimated to have gained more resident workers than have lost office workers – have tended to be prosperous areas, such as Richmond-upon-Thames, Bromley (Kent), Rochford (Essex) and East Cambridgeshire.

"With these areas also gaining the most from increased consumer spending, if anything greater WFH has so far increased the gap between the most and least prosperous parts of the UK."

Lalitha Try, Researcher at the Resolution Foundation, said the WFH revolution has entrenched wealth disparities between areas.

She said: "The pandemic has touched every part of Britain in many different ways. Lockdowns and the 'race for space' in the property market have led some to proclaim the death of the city and the revitalisation of villages.

"But with many deprived parts of outer London struggling, and the WFH revolution mainly benefitting already prosperous areas, Britain's big economic divides are as entrenched as ever. 

"This makes the task of 'levelling up' the country all the more challenging, and all the more pressing."