i54 plan could be model for future growth of cities – CBI
MAJOR regeneration projects such as the i54 business park in South Staffordshire could be the model for future growth in cities across the UK, a new study by the CBI has claimed.
The business park is already the home of two major companies; aerospace supplier Moog and food technology business Eurofins and they are soon to be joined by Jaguar Land Rover’s new £750m engine plant.
In a speech at the launch of the Birmingham Made Me design expo at Millennium Point, John Cridland, CBI Director-General, outlined his vision for the new approach to regeneration, one which focuses on business growth and breaks the cycle of dependency on the public sector.
“We need to break the cycle of dependency on the public purse to bankroll building projects, and focus more on local business strengths, leveraging the clout of the public balance sheet as a confidence booster to drive investment,” he said.
“Businesses are changing and so must the properties they occupy. With our supply of quality office space diminishing and the need to dramatically speed-up house building, regeneration is a high priority for business leaders I speak to in cities across the UK.
“On the high street it’s a different story, with growing numbers of shops now lying empty. Businesses and local communities need to put their heads together to find solutions that will breathe new life into our town centres – not to recreate them as they once were, but to fashion them for the 21st century.”
He said the Government had helped to get the housing market moving with mortgage access initiatives, but action was now needed on the supply side.
“We need shovels in the ground. Failure to build will see housing in our major cities become increasingly unaffordable. Communities without young people will not flourish, and the dreams of our young people for home ownership will be dashed,” he added.
“There is huge potential for our major cities outside London to contribute far more than they do already. But without regeneration they will continue to punch below their weight.”
The new study, ‘Locally grown – Unlocking business potential through regeneration’, draws on positive examples of regeneration across the UK.
Among the success stories highlighted are the i54 South Staffordshire and Media City UK in Salford, which have successfully reinforced regional sector strengths in automotive and creative industries respectively.
The CBI believes that four key policy challenges must be tackled to ensure successful UK-wide regeneration:
• Local Enterprise Partnerships must rise to the challenge. The industry body said Government was strengthening LEPs with more powers and funding, a proposal suggested by Lord Heseltine in his No Stone Unturned economic review and echoed in the Greater Birmingham Project document. However, businesses still needed to be convinced of their capacity to deliver growth.
• Political parties must commit to the existing structures for local growth. The CBI said businesses did not want another overhaul of local governance structures.
• The Government must deliver long-awaited infrastructure upgrades. Businesses need to see a delivery plan complete with timescales, sequencing, transparency and accountability, so they can decide where to invest, it said.
• Planning policy and property taxation must support the private sector’s development ambition. Local authorities must set out clear plans in accordance with the National Planning Policy Framework and urgent action is needed to curb the unacceptable burden of business rates for firms across the UK, especially for hard-pressed retailers.
