There has been an explosion of storage units around the world and the UK has more storage units than any other country in Europe. Perhaps we’re a nation of hoarders, but a Royal Institute of British Architects survey found that we also fold ourselves into smaller homes than the rest of the continent. As houses shrink and more people live in shared, rented accommodation, self-storage units are multiplying. In 2018 there were 1,505 sites across the country. According to the Self Storage Association, that number has increased by almost 80 per cent to over 2,700, with 60 million square feet of shelf storage.

The shift in behaviour is long term, partly because the housing squeeze shows no signs of reversing and partly because temporary solutions can easily become a habit. Those who have rented a storage unit testify how addictive they become. These odd, liminal spaces allow you to tuck away the inconvenient parts of life on the outskirts of town and forget about it. Even when the bills roll in, it is tempting to keep delaying the hassle of collecting whatever was stored.

Growth has been driven by both individuals and business. Occupancy at listed companies Big Yellow and Safestore has slowed since a spike during the pandemic, but this is partly down to much greater competition, after all it’s not that hard to build more metal boxes. Moving items into storage as the result of temporary economic hardship, relocation or bereavement makes perfect sense. What makes less sense is the decision many take to keep paying monthly bills for years in order to hang on to things not really needed. With concerns about the global economy, expect their number to grow.