Louis O'Halloran’s Post

Get ready as #Devo is coming to a place near you! How that looks and what it’s for are the BIG questions we need to tackle BUT there is no doubt devolution can deliver real #change #growth #prosperity @devo@inflect

England’s metro mayors — give them more powers - Might metro mayors solve the challenge of regional growth in the UK? How to solve the challenge of regional growth in the UK; how to level up and heal the North-South divide. These challenges have concentrated the minds of every British government for at least the past 30 years. One area of real promise which may address these decades-long challenges has been the election of ‘metro mayors’. Metro mayors and are directly elected by citizens in their area and are chairs of their area's combined authority. The mayor, in partnership with the combined authority, exercises the powers and functions devolved from Government, set out in the local area's devolution deal. First elected outside London in 2017, metro mayors have become something of a success story in Britain’s otherwise patchy approach to regional growth. Residents across ten metro regions in England are soon to vote for their local mayor. Metro mayors and are directly elected by citizens in their area, and are chairs of their area's combined authority. The mayor, in partnership with the combined authority, exercises the powers and functions devolved from Government, set out in the local area's devolution deal. In a recent article that has appeared in the FT (‘England’s promising experiment with metro mayors’, FT View, April 9) it is acknowledged that most mayors are now more recognisable than local authority leaders and MPs, according a survey by the Centre for Cities. Those living in mayoralties also support greater decision-making powers for their mayors. Some leaders have already begun overseeing economic improvements too; from developing tram networks and bus systems, to addressing skill shortages. In response the FT’s article, London Business School’s Dr John Mullins says in a letter to the FT that while it may be premature to, as the article has suggested, “double down” on the metro mayor experiment, mayors such as Andy Burnham (Greater Manchester) and Andy Street (West Midlands) have successfully blazed a trail in terms of their personal success, and promotion of their roles as catalysts for innovation and investment. #enterprise #innovation #urbanregeneration #northsouthdivide https://lnkd.in/egSwKzus

This is exciting news for our region. The message from Number 10 was simple - More autonomy = more prosperity. There was a clear commitment for more powers to be handed down from Whitehall to our communities in the LCR. It’s clear that our region thrives when local leaders make decisions. Since 2017, Steve Rotheram has driven significant positive change and progress across all our communities. Let’s reflect on what’s been achieved via Liverpool City Region Combined Authority so far: 🚆 Transport Revolution: Spearheaded the introduction of new, state-of-the-art trains on the Merseyrail network, enhancing the commuter experience and improving connectivity across the region. 🏗️ Economic Growth: Successfully attracted substantial investment, creating thousands of jobs and supporting local businesses. His leadership in establishing the £75 million Business Growth Package has been instrumental in fostering economic resilience and innovation. 🌳 Green Initiatives: Launched the Green Investment Fund to combat climate change and promote sustainable development. His vision has paved the way for cleaner air, greener spaces, and a commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. 🏠 Affordable Housing: Delivered on promises to increase affordable housing, ensuring more families have access to quality homes. The Brownfield Land Fund has unlocked land for the construction of over 5,000 homes, addressing critical housing shortages. 🎓 Skills and Education: Championed the £54 million Adult Education Budget, providing thousands of residents with opportunities for skills development and lifelong learning. His initiatives have opened doors for many to secure better jobs and brighter futures. 📈Inclusive Growth: Advocated for social justice and inclusivity, ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared widely. His Inclusive Growth Plan focuses on reducing inequalities and building a fairer society for all. Steve’s tenure as Metro Mayor has been marked by visionary leadership and tangible results. He’s proven that our region has the ability to shape its own legacy outside of Whitehall. With more powers being handed down from Whitehall, it’s vital that we ensure that our business communities voice is heard loud and clear as we shape a new future for our region. We have a real opportunity for change and I’m so excited to see what happens next! #Leadership #LiverpoolCityRegion #SustainableGrowth #Devolution #InclusiveEconomy

It’s now two weeks since Keir Starmer’s resounding victory (in terms of the size of The Labour Party’s majority) in the UK 🇬🇧 General Election and the #change in mood is palpably more positive. The King’s Speech has now established the Government’s legislative programme and, apart from one or two relatively minor tweaks, the manifesto is being followed. Like Farrukh Younus, who started creating content as he was disenchanted with The Conservative Party who he felt had “continued a downward spiral into aggressive divisive #politics”, I didn’t vote Labour. Farrukh sums things up well when he says he “feels considerably more at ease with our new government. We're heading in a better direction than before and this ought to be welcomed by everyone”. So why am I more nervous than most? Please don’t get me wrong, I’m excited by lots of what has been said so far. However, there is a caveat… Plans are nothing without being financed. Until the Rt Hon Rachel Reeves stands up and confirms exactly the how, I won’t rest as we are in #debt up to our eyes, which can only mean #tax to #spend. I’m encouraged beyond words by the possibility that my fear may be unfounded. In the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority area both Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region and Liverpool City Council have been able to engage with Government in a way that they haven’t since the 00’s. Although Boris was fulsome in his praise of Liverpool’s response to the pandemic, the reality is that Liverpool’s regeneration has been entirely DESPITE Tory rule. So, it’s been music to the ears of both ours and Greater Manchester Combined Authority Mayor Andy Burnham as to Labour’s victory. To quote Steve: “The Liverpool City Region is a place steeped in #history, a place full of #pioneers and #talent. While we are proud of our history, we are ready to look forward to an even brighter and more prosperous #future. Our illustrious history will not be written for us in Westminster or Whitehall - but by us here in the Liverpool City Region…” Steve’s ambition is clearly to turn Liverpool from the 7th greatest city in the world (Time Out Group plc) to “the best place to grow up, grow a family, and grow a business”. Liverpool isn’t perfect…we’ve only just got back control of our council after commissioners had to be drafted in thanks to numerous issues surrounding corruption. The day after the praise by Boris, saw the head of the council arrested on fraud charges. That sums Liverpool’s ability to shoot itself in the foot well at times. However, it’s a unique place, with unique people and there truly is nowhere that compares. More importantly, there’s a plan that has the costs and where it’s all coming from clearly set out: Here’s the 4 year plan https://lnkd.in/edQsrxWz Judge for yourself and feel free to comment as long as you do it with #respect. https://lnkd.in/e8ZWtgp6 👏👏👏👏 🙏🕊️🙏🕊️ #vision #economy #planning

In the 1960’s 400,000 homes were being built a year, since the 1980s it’s about max 200,000 a year and sometimes a lot less. At the same time the population has gone from 52,000,000 to 67,000,000. That a 50% reduction in building and 25% plus increase in population. Labour has the great commitment to build 1,500,000 home in the next parliament, which is 300,000 a year. But the starting point is a bit less than 200,000 a year, and they need to change the system and starting giving consents which will probably take 2 years. There also needs to be time to build the consented homes, which conservatively would be a year from consent. Of the 5 year parliament, 2 years to gear up will give us 400,000 homes, and that will then give us 2 years for consent to be given to 1,100,000 homes or 550,000 homes a year. Last year about 250,000 homes were consented! I don’t think 1 extra planning officer per local authority will unlock the system, so radical reform is needed. I’d rather pay more for planning applications and get a quicker better service so they can afford to build up their teams. How about the green belt. This comes from the 1940s Greater London plan, and was to stop London expanding forever, which was a great thing. But since then the green belt has grown and grown. It’s not just neighbours who are NIMBYs, but whole districts who have expanded the green belt to “preserve” their settlements. But how much of the green belt is good quality, and did they realise at the time that they were strangling development potential both restricting available land and also forcing development away from existing settelments encouraging car travel and unsustainable locations? Labours policy on grey belt is a fantastic one. Looking forward to talking about all of the above at City & Country ‘s fringe event today in Liverpool with Liz Hamson, Kate Faulkner OBE and MP Josh Dean. Thanks to Laura Hellon-Hughes at Building Relations PR for organising.

The Government’s commitment to ‘Get Britain Building’ and accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure in the King’s Speech today is extremely welcome. For too long the planning system has been a drag anchor on the economic growth the country desperately needs to drive social prosperity. Planning reform can make a significant difference to our communities by unlocking development to provide new homes, build new infrastructure and transport networks, and create cultural and leisure amenities that all help to forge the places we want to live, work and visit. However, it is so important that the reforms being brought forward incorporate development that contributes to the broader economy, including the workspaces that are home to and places of innovation for British businesses, global corporations and budding start-ups, all of which provide high-quality jobs and make our urban centres thrive. This is more important than ever, as our recently released #GoodGrowthinCentralLondon report shows, central London has seen a 54% drop in major planning applications. Unlocking planning constraints for workspace in central London could see a £100bn boost for the national economy and hundreds of thousands of new jobs. We look forward to seeing more detail around the proposed reforms over the coming weeks. Read our Good Growth in Central London report here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dwMBEYJr

After many years out of the limelight, the built environment industry is now front and centre of the government’s legislative agenda, which was clear both from Rt Hon Rachel Reeves’ inaugural speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer, and from the King’s Speech today. One particularly interesting focus of today’s speech was devolution in England. It’s a key part of unlocking development and growth in the country – after all, the 12 metro mayors represent almost half of England’s population and more than half of its economic output. And it boils down to a simple principle: local people understand their area better. Coverdale Barclay has worked with many devolved authorities, and we’ve seen first-hand the positive impact that decentralised budgets and powers can have on towns and cities. Our current work with Stockport MDC has underlined this point. In delivering thousands of new homes, workplaces, retail units, brand-new transport infrastructure and more, it has proved a model for how devolution can deliver – so much so that Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s mayor Andy Burnham promised to roll out the model across Manchester in his recent manifesto. When reading that Labour wants to “empower metro mayors [in England] to deliver new housing projects linked up to the jobs and infrastructure needed to support regional growth”, it’s towns like Stockport that spring to mind. Publicly or privately, many in the industry will also be rejoicing that the shift is now moving away from “levelling up” – a phrase that many associate with wasteful competitive bidding processes rather than effective change. When it comes to creating meaningful change in regions, towns and cities across the country, it’s heartening to hear that devolution in England will be a “central pillar of the party’s growth strategy”. BBC News has been running live updates of the speech and the State Opening of Parliament: https://lnkd.in/gKxhPbPp #kingsspeech #devolution #planning #housing #transport

What does the future for public-private collaboration in the built environment look like? Back in September, we co-hosted a discussion over dinner at the Annual The Labour Party Conference, bringing together senior leaders from across the industry to debate this question. It is timely to reflect on the conversation, given a lot of what we talked about was revisited in last week’s #AutumnBudget. #PlanningReform can unlock collaboration. Planning reform, though not a catch-all, will be crucial for accelerating the national renewal agenda, and for helping the private sector play a leading role on the delivery of new infrastructure and investment. The appointment of Poppy Gustafsson OBE as Minister for Investment is a step in the right direction, as is an expanded scope for our metropolitan mayors. Stability and consistency are paramount. While the new #PublicSectorReform and #InnovationFund and extended UK Shared Prosperity Fund should help provide stability, other measures are needed. Standardising procurement processes and encouraging housing innovation will be key. Existing towns and cities need #regeneration, too. While the #NewTowns programme is a positive long-term plan, it can only be part of a wider strategy. New neighbourhoods in our existing cities can also help spearhead the regeneration effort – as shown by our recent contribution to the transformation of East London’s #RoyalWharf and Paradise Birmingham. We look forward to continuing the discussion and collaborating with this Government as now is the time for the private sector to take a leading role. Thanks to ING Media for organising the event and to everyone who took part in the discussion. Dav Bansal, Partner, Howells | Sophie Bevan, Director of Regeneration, Liverpool City Council | Caroline Compton-James, Deputy Chief Executive, SCAPE | Mike De'Ath, Partner, HTA Design LLP | Gráinne Gilmore, Head of Research, Cluttons | Richard Grocott, Acquisitions Manager, Grainger PLC | Jessica Hardman, President, British Property Federation | Melanie Leech, Chief Executive, British Property Federation | Jason Longhurst, Head of Sustainable Investment & Partnerships, Prologis UK | David Morris, Development Director, Royal London Asset Management | Lucie Murray, Senior Cities Strategist, ING Media | Robert Sloss, CEO, HUB | Stevan Tennant, Development Director, Ballymore | Paul Weston, SVP Regional Head UK, Prologis UK | Damian Wild, Managing Director, ING Media | Katie Saunders, Partner, Trowers & Hamlins | Joanne Roney, Managing Director, Birmingham City Council

Lee’s Summit D1 Councilman Mia Prier shares her thoughts on Downtown, her first two years on council and how the body can and should better collaborate with the mayor. City of Lee's Summit Downtown Lee's Summit Main Street, Inc. My latest column - a Q&A with CM Prier - here in Link 2 Lee’s Summit. #leessummit #cityofleessummit

GM Places for Everyone - 10 observations from the last 10 years following adoption of the plan yesterday: 1. IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT IS DONE - GMSF/PFE looked for a long time like it would fail, but the commitment of GMCA, 9 Councils and PINS to getting a plan in place saw it pass multiple hurdles. 2. STRONG LEADERSHIP - PfE had the benefit of strong leadership from the Mayor, Leaders and Senior Officers, supported by CA/LA planning teams, without which it would have failed. 3. AMBITIOUS PLACES NEED AMBITIOUS PLANS - Greater Manchester is rapidly growing and badly needed PfE to shape that growth, but as those close to it know, the plan only does part of the job. More ‘heavy lifting’ is needed via Local Plans. 4. PART OF A WIDER PLAN - PfE is an integral part of GM”s wider strategy for sustainable and inclusive growth, and its funding and investment plans, which helped keep it on track. 5. HOUSING TARGETS ARE ESSENTIAL - very simply, without them, and the threat of planning by appeal without the plan, PfE would have not have happened. 6. STRATEGIC PLANNING TO LEVEL UP - PfE focuses on redressing GMs north-south divide by proposing growth around towns like Radcliffe, Irlam and Leigh, and enshrines GMs “growth locations” in formal planning policy. 7. JOINT WORKING IS CRUCIAL - between the Combined Authority, the Local Authorities, consultees, developers and others - to pool resources, make compromises where needed and ensure robust plans. 8. A BROWNFIELD LED PLAN - despite involving some Green Belt release, PfE and GM’s land supply are still heavily brownfield led and delivery will require major public sector led support. 9. “DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY” - GM has led in producing a bottom-up coherent spatial plan that sets an overall framework and releases some key sites - other UK cities would benefit from the same and the next Government should facilitate more of the same. 10. A PRIVILEGE AND A HIGHLIGHT - being involved in some way in such a huge plan for my city over the past decade has been a privilege and will be a career highlight - something to look back on in the future and think I helped make a difference. I’m sure a few friends and colleagues on here will share that last sentiment and share other observations!