Keeping it local
#Week41 saw the end of the UK party conference season, that time of year when the major political clans gather to outline plans, rally memberships and generally try to convince the wider public to vote for them. Opinions on the policies on show will differ according to political taste, but perhaps the most common reaction from real estate is cynicism that much-vaunted plans will ever amount to anything. Too many empty promises have been made for much faith to be placed in new ones, particularly at a time when the public purse is under extreme stress.
But away from national politics, there are signs that some nettles are being grasped. Perhaps the thorniest challenge for local authorities is the state of the nation’s high streets. There are a range of causes, but in essence too many towns are ‘overshopped’, and solutions are thin on the ground.
In part, this is down to the granular nature of who owns our high streets, and the difficulties around convincing a large number of stakeholders – with their own priorities and objectives – to work together and reshape town centres. Often, the only coherent chunks of our high streets – that is, a significant grouping of stores with one owner – are shopping centres.
So local authorities are to be applauded when they seize an opportunity to take control of these assets and try to enact change with their own money on the table. In just the past ten days, we have seen local authorities in Fareham, Tunbridge Wells and Barnsley acquire town centre schemes with regeneration at the centre of their plans, while the London Borough of Sutton is seeking a partner for its own £500 million redevelopment project.
The timing of these buys is interesting, coming at a point when many believe retail property values have bottomed out. It might be a stretch to suggest local authorities have cannily waited for prices to fall before weighing in, but they should at least receive some credit for taking advantage now that point has been reached.
Time will tell if these efforts turn out well, but at first glance there should be some sound strategies based on repurposing and incorporating more residential into what are often large sites. As both the owners and the granters of planning permission, local authorities should be well placed to both enact change themselves and provide the certainty required to attract private capital.
There are signs that a local approach is spreading into other sectors too. Just this week, Innovate Cambridge – a body comprised of the University, City and County Councils and major local employers, such as Microsoft and AstraZeneca – released a new plan aimed at doubling the number of ‘unicorns’ (start-ups with a valuation over $1 billion) based there by 2035.
Central to this plan is the creation of new business space, housing and associated infrastructure. Cambridge has seen a high degree of campaigning against new developments; it seems logical that if these proposals are to have any success, then bodies that incorporate all stakeholders – and crucially bring people with them – will be vital.
There is, of course, no guarantee that any of these projects will come to fruition, or prove successful if they do so. But it is undoubtedly positive that people are trying, and in an absence of top-down support – regardless of who wins the next election, there will not suddenly be wave of funding available – the best bet looks to be local.