CBI and EC Harris unveil blueprint for delivery of next generation towns and cities

THE CBI and EC Harris today unveiled a package of measures for the public and private sectors to work together to unlock local growth, overhaul business rates and rejuvenate the UK’s towns and cities.

In a new report, developed with built asset consultants EC Harris, the CBI is calling for strong local leadership to work with businesses and the Government to deliver new homes, modern offices, good transport links and thriving high streets.

The next regeneration: unlocking local growth outlines a blueprint for regeneration.

Among the measures it calls for are:

A one-year business rates holiday for firms moving into empty property

Planning changes to make it easier to convert empty shops into homes and for cafés and restaurants to introduce temporary outside seating

Using the public sector balance sheet to kick-start investment in building projects.

The report also highlights the need for more joined-up strategic local leadership and more proactive planning allied with early private sector engagement.

With one in seven shops on the high street now lying empty, the report suggests proper planning and a strategic vision is essential to securing the future success of the evolving high street and in tough financial times, public money, land and property must be leveraged with private sector investment to kick start projects.

Katja Hall, CBI chief policy director, said: “Too many grand regeneration projects of the past have failed to deliver and public money has been wasted.

“We want to ensure growth reaches all parts of the UK and that means co-ordinated action to rejuvenate our towns and cities.

“Thriving local communities need good amenities on their doorstep, ranging from decent housing, good leisure and public services, and most importantly – jobs. For businesses to invest, good transport links and modern office space are a must.

“The high street is the beating heart of our towns and cities but we can’t reinvent them as they once were. That’s why we’re calling for action on business rates to ease the pressure on retailers, and for planning laws to be relaxed to turn empty shops into homes and create more of a café culture.”

She added: “To kick-start private sector investment we need to see more creative use of public sector balance sheets and surplus land and property being put to good use.

“All of this will need to be co-ordinated by a strong visionary leader – whether that’s a council chief executive, Local Enterprise Partnership chief or a directly-elected Mayor.”

Tim Neal, UK regional leader, EC Harris, said: “The private sector has an important role to play in fostering the growth of our local economies and creating thriving communities across the country.

“The Government is committed to the more effective pooling of built assets across the public sector, but where deployed imaginatively, it is also possible to use those surplus assets to play a major role in making new regeneration viable for the developer community.

“But none of this will happen without energetic, entrepreneurial and truly collaborative partnerships across public and private sector bodies. The need for clear civic leadership that fosters a sense of ambition for a place and its people; and clearly articulates the local competitive advantage, has never been greater.”