Yesterday the Government published its long-anticipated Levelling Up White Paper (LUWP), seeking to ‘transform towns and cities across the country through ambitious regeneration projects.’
Levelling up the UK was a key government pledge during the election campaign of 2019, and to date there has been little information on how this could be achieved. The LUWP focus is on regeneration and funding for 20 English locations (defined as sectoral clusters) in the period to 2030, reusing brownfield land (stimulated by a £1.8bn brownfield fund) to deliver housing and economic growth in areas identified as potential priorities for investment. The full LUWP can be read here.
Michael Davies, Savills planning director, Birmingham, comments, “the Paper is essentially a manifesto for levelling up everywhere, not just north vs south but within regions where there is disparity. Importantly levelling-up is not an event, it is a process for which the White Paper is the start. The implications for the West Midlands, in particular, should mean greater mayoral powers, cutting across regeneration, investment and planning”.
There are significant funding announcements. The Secretary of State Michael Gove has identified circa £4.8bn of additional funding for 2024/25, though detailed analysis will no doubt follow on which fiscal interventions Government proposes year on year to 2030. There is a notably a focus on the research & development sector, including low carbon industry, signalling the Government’s intention to address climate change through innovation achieved in new businesses outside of London and the South-East.
The proposed reorganisation of local government and existing partnership structures is relevant for planning, development and housing, though detail is awaited on the timing and process for establishing devolved mayors. The LUWP will lead to significant further legislation (the timing for which is not specified), including a Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill, a Social Housing Regulation Bill and the Planning Bill (announced under the previous Secretary of State Robert Jenrick). In the interim a number of policy papers are anticipated, which may outline some of those measures Mr Gove is now to implement (see Savills thoughts here).
The need to ‘turbocharge regeneration’ in the 20 target areas has a focus on re-use of brownfield land in order to transform derelict sites and city centres and ‘create places people will be proud to live and work in.’ 12 bold national missions are identified, some more related to property than others. These include measures to increase affordable home ownership and location of jobs / housing, employment growth generally (noting the focus on research & development), targeted improvements in public transport (mimicking London) and fostering ‘pride in place’ (all associated with the building beautiful agenda set in 2021). The Government proposes to legislate a Levelling Up Advisory Council and annual reporting of progress against the 12 missions.
David Jackson, Savills head of planning, comments that “the prospect of further devolved powers to local government should, in theory, open up opportunities for more coordinated development plans and regeneration strategies. To be effective this requires support in terms of both resources and funding in order to deliver infrastructure and investment priorities and support local enterprise.
The White Paper signals a renaissance for strategic planning; a welcome return from its demise in 2010. We should expect more partnership boards between local authorities with a shared vision, such as that seen in Oxfordshire, cutting across sectors and based on a clearly regional economic geography. What is essential, is that the potential for growth is grasped in all parts of the country, delivering the jobs and housing that is much needed to forge a recovery from Covid”.
The proposed reforms to local government, with a shift to a single-tier mayoral-style system in York and Yorkshire (proposed MCAs benefiting from £120m of funding), enhanced powers for existing mayors (such as in the West Midlands and Greater Manchester) and new combined county-level authorities (in a number of areas including Leicestershire and Norfolk) all signals a shift of power away from planning at the very local district and borough scale. Whilst the key objective is to speed up the planning process this should not be at the expense of enhancing local initiatives and public engagement. The current patchwork of plans and variable performance in terms of their progress towards adoption was highlighted in Savills recent update.
Specific planning reforms include simpler and shorter local plans and increased compulsory purchase powers to facilitate regeneration areas. The importance of building beautiful is reiterated and digitising the planning system, as suggested by the Planning White Paper (summarised here). The Infrastructure Levy, also referred to in the Planning White Paper, is also identified as a component of the forthcoming Planning Bill later this year.
Adam Key, Savills planning director, Leeds, comments “we have known about the move to a North Yorkshire Unitary Authority combining seven districts for 18 months and the resulting new Local Plan which is anticipated to come forward in Yorkshire in the near future. As such, a prompt transition to any mayoral strategic planning function needs to happen quickly to ensure there are no further delays between Plan making and decision taking, and well ahead of 2030".
In terms of housing, the Government has maintained its emphasis on a brownfield-first approach to site-finding, including linking employment growth and new houses. There is no change to the Government’s national target of delivering 300,000 a year, but with the focus on brownfield sites this will require a substantial drive towards regeneration of urban areas (which will start with ‘transformational regeneration’ in Sheffield and Wolverhampton in particular). It also remains to be seen what other economic sectors will be encouraged. Savills with the BPF has recently highlighted the importance of planning for logistics to support levelling up, full report here.
Alongside the LUWP, a separate £1.5bn Levelling Up Home Building Fund will be launched next week. This is intended to provide loans to SME housebuilders and developers to deliver 42,000 homes, with the majority outside of London and the South-East. £12bn is also being directed at affordable housing with much of this funding already committed to delivery partners by Homes England and the GLA. The LUWP indicates that elected mayors will have greater influence over how some of the remaining funding will be spent, as currently happens in London. Looking to future allocations to support housebuilding, the abolition of the 80:20 rule indicates a change in direction from the funding strategy of addressing affordability by encouraging housebuilding in areas of high demand.
Quality of existing rented homes, and of tenants’ experience living in them, features as strongly as new supply. The LUWP contains commitments to move forward with changes to regulation of social and private rented housing; both of which have been long awaited; and has an explicit target for achievement of the Decent Homes Standard in rented homes.
Helen Collins, Savills head of housing consultancy, comments ‘the emphasis on regeneration, and expansion of the housing powers of elected mayors is a positive move that gives opportunities for housing providers to meet the wider needs of local areas, and builds on the strong partnership working already seen in areas such as Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
In respect of implications for all involved in the property industry, Savills predicts a continued need for investment in skills and local government resourcing, to quickly adapt to the revised governance structures. It is clear housing, employment and regeneration opportunities will be the most supported in the 20 locations and tailored to meet the relevant sectoral strengths. This should not mean that the potential for growth elsewhere is in anyway overlooked. All geographies and sectors will need to be explored to create the national uplift that the LUWP envisages and drive a post Covid recovery.