Chancellor puts regional growth at top of the agenda at UKREiiF

Cities and regions are to benefit from a major program of regeneration as government stepped up delivery of its regional growth agenda at the UK Real Estate Investment & Infrastructure Forum (UKREiiF) this week.

Building on her approach set out earlier this year in her Mais Lecture, the Chancellor emphasised the government's focus on backing city regions, working in partnership with mayors and local leaders, and crowding in private investment to unlock jobs, regeneration and opportunity in communities across the UK.

Alongside delivery on the ground, the Chancellor also set out further progress on deepening devolution – giving local leaders more tools to drive growth in their areas – and reinforced confidence in the UK as a leading destination for long-term investment.

UKREiiF brought together investors, developers and local leaders from across the country, providing a key moment to demonstrate how government is turning its growth strategy into real, place-based delivery.

The Chancellor confirmed a tranche of major regeneration projects across the UK through the government's City Investment Funds – providing mayors and local leaders with the tools they need to respond to specific challenges in their area. 

The funds, announced by the Chancellor at her Mais Lecture, will be used to grow city economies under the leadership of mayors who know their communities best. The following regions will be benefitting from the announcements:

Greater Manchester

• The Oxford Road Corridor innovation cluster is to be extended, delivering 225,000 sq ft of new office space and leveraging almost £120 million of private investment.
• Delivery at Victoria North in Red Bank is being accelerated, unlocking 446 new homes and £170 million in private investment.

Liverpool

• Four major city centre schemes are being supported, delivering 450,000 sq ft of new Grade A office space – the first new-build Grade A office in the Central Business District for over 15 years – supporting around 2,500 jobs
• Heritage-led regeneration is delivering a further 140,000 sq ft of Grade A workspace
• New lab-enabled space is being backed in the Knowledge Quarter to support health and life sciences

North East

• Major regeneration projects moved into delivery across Newcastle and Gateshead, including Gateshead Quays, Newcastle Helix, Forth Yards and Stephenson Quarter
• The Durham Innovation District at Aykley Heads was accelerated, delivering up to 350,000 sq ft of commercial office office space and supporting around 4,000 jobs

South Yorkshire

• The Sheffield Moorfoot regeneration scheme is expected to unlock 1600 new homes and £300 million in development value
• Facilitating the delivery of around the Sheffield city centre ‘Innovation Spine' – including the Station Campus, accentuating new top tier office, science and innovation opportunities

West Yorkshire

• Regeneration of Temple Works and the wider Temple District is being unlocked, supporting around 3,500 homes and at least 150,000 sq ft of commercial and leisure space
• Up to £12 million supported delivery of 570 homes at West End Riverside
• Up to £7 million unlocked further delivery at Meadow Lane, delivering 246 homes and over 200,000 sq ft of Grade A commercial space

At UKREiiF, the government reiterated its commitment to modernising and investing in the Civil Service estate outside of London.  Investments in Manchester through the new Digital Campus will bring together over 8,000 people from multiple departments. In Darlington the Treasury and other departments are being brought closer to the local communities they serve, and investment in the new Hub in York Central will unlock local regeneration including 2,500 more homes.

New inward investment prospectuses have been launched this week for the Northern Growth and OxCam Growth Corridors, showcasing the new opportunities that have made both regions leading destinations for global investors.

The Chancellor also reiterated her commitment to delivering a fiscal devolution roadmap at the Budget. This will give local leaders more power to plan properly, invest in the infrastructure, and deliver in the transport, housing and regeneration projects that matter most for their areas,

This will allow them to share in the proceeds of growth and spreading prosperity across our country without taxpayers being asked to contribute a penny more. The Treasury will publish an interim progress report on the roadmap in the summer.

A new Mass Transit Taskforce will look across the barriers that make the delivery of mass transit projects so complex, drawing on best practice from across the world to make recommendations on how it can be delivered quicker for cities. Working independently, the Taskforce will be led by Chair Bridget Rosewell CBE, and will be modelled on the Fingleton review, which successfully looked into delays in nuclear.

The work of the Taskforce is already underway, with evidence already being gathered ahead of its first recommendations in six months' time. Further details on the taskforce, will be set out by the Department for Transport in due course.

The Chancellor also announced plans to devolve decisions on Transport and Works Act Orders to Mayors - with a consultation to be launched in the autumn to consider the scope of powers to be devolved. This will provide mayors with more tools so they can get on with building public transport like tram networks for their regions.

Earlier in the week, the Exchequer Secretary Dan Tomlinson confirmed a major expansion of the Royal Armouries museum, supported by the Leeds City Fund. The museum, which hosts UKREiiF, will see around 3,500m² of new conference and exhibition space created to strengthen the city's ability to attract major events. The funding is expected to support more than 400 jobs and generate over £700 million in lifetime GVA, acting as a catalyst for growth in the South Bank and city centre.