LISTEN: Local authority cuts are the biggest problem facing the UK’s second largest city in the face of an oncoming “tidal wave of development”, according to a panel of industry experts.
Speaking at last night’s Estates Gazette Question Time event at Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre, chaired by EG editor Damian Wild, panellist Glenn Howells of Glenn Howells Architects made the statement in response to a question from the floor from Peter Yeomans of Sandwell metropolitan borough council. Yeomans asked the six-strong panel how, given the financial cutbacks proposed for local government, Birmingham could see development being funded over the next five years?
Addressing the 200-plus audience, Howells said that as a direct response to resource cutbacks at local authorities, a range of different tools should be applied, such as planning performance initiatives to secure the right resources for the job. Asked if there was a willingness for developers to pay extra to get the right planning resources for a project, Howells said: “Absolutely, yes, for a modest additional fee. This would be a great advantage.”
Fellow panellist and leader of Birmingham city council, Sir Albert Bore, said an agreement had been reached with Solihull borough council and other local authorities for their planning teams to work together to create a critical mass of resources. “With joined council authorities, Birmingham has the critical mass needed to take investment forward.”
Bore also announced that Birmingham would be making two major announcements shortly, including releasing plans for a new “economic corridor” next month.
Asked if the £50bn HS2 high-speed rail project would have a significant effect on the city’s office rental levels, fellow panellist Christian Bull, real estate partner at law firm Mills & Reeve, said it would have a “huge effect” and rents would increase.
In a direct response to HS2 and the city’s lack of quality space, Bore said HS2 had already caused a change, with people ready to invest on a speculative basis for the first time in years. He said that developers were now “beating a path to the council’s door”, thanks to HS2.
Savills’ Barry Allen, another panel member, said he believed HS2 would drive the top end of the city’s office market.
Deutsche Bank’s head of real estate asset research and strategy, Simon Durkin, said the firm was delighted with its move to Birmingham. He believed it was more important for firms to look at a city’s employment talent pool and availability of product rather than office rental costs. He said Birmingham competed not only with other UK cities, but also with Hamburg, Paris, the Nordics and parts of Eastern Europe.
Questions at the event covered subjects including the private rented sector, general election and the formation of a new “super council” in the West Midlands.
Click below to listen to a podcast from the event
Read next week’s Estates Gazette for a full report on the event.
