Multi-storey car parks in Mayfair and Marylebone currently hold more than £1bn worth of prime development land, according to Pastor Real Estate.

The Mayfair-based real estate agent estimates that the 18 operational car parks in the two districts, which currently provide over 4,500 spaces for cars, are worth £1.3bn.

In its latest report, Pastor said developers should be looking to convert car parks into high-quality residential accommodation because the number of available large-scale sites in prime central London is falling.

The report says: “With high values and strong demand for residential developments it makes sense to look for scale opportunities like car parks: turn parking into penthouses.

“It also makes sense to improve the local environment in the process.

“Many car parks are an eyesore and have been underutilised due to poor configuration and out-dated space requirements.”

The report highlighted Marylebone’s Moxon Street cark park as an example, with planning permission recently granted for 79 residential units with retail, restaurant and leisure space.

The site’s architects said they are planning to “repair a hole in the urban fabric of Marylebone by reinstating the historic street pattern dating from 1750 up to 1996.”