Can Sheffield attract the inward investment it needs to boost its economy and bring it to the international stage? Devolution could be the first step, writes Samantha McClary. Photos by Chris Saunders
If there is one thing that the North can be credited with, it is frankness and a get-on-and-do-it attitude, both of which were very much in evidence at EG’s first Sheffield City Talks.
The event, hosted at Sheffield United’s grounds in the heart of the city, brought together Simon McCabe, director of Scarborough Group, Rob Darrington, partner at Commercial Property Partners, Chris Scholey, private sector member of the Sheffield LEP board, and Martin McKervey, a partner at Nabarro and also Sheffield LEP private sector board member.
The region’s devolution deal and how the development of infrastructure would improve its standing and appeal not just in the UK but globally, dominated the discussion.
And for Scholey, the most important thing for the Sheffield city region was simply “getting on and doing it”.
“Devolution is great for Sheffield,” he said. “It brings us £1.3bn over 30 years and gives us the opportunity to make plenty of decisions for ourselves.”
He cited the example of trying to establish enterprise zones and what their functions would be.
“When enterprise zones started, it took us nine months going backwards and forwards between Sheffield and different departments in government to get any decisions on what we were going to do and what it was going to cost,” said Scholey. “Devolution gives the opportunity for government to say to us, this is what we want and this is what you’ve got, then we can get on and make our own decisions.”
For McKervey, however, it was not all about the money.
“Government is entrusting us with money but there is a wider issue with devolution that we need to focus on, which is particularly relevant to how we do things in the city region,” he said.
“We need to get the private sector more involved because the reality is that to get the 70,000 new jobs and 6,000 new businesses we want, we have to create a dynamic where private enterprise can actually help our local authority leaders who all face huge challenges away from the devolution agenda.”
He added: “For a lot of us, devolution is the coming together of true collaboration between the public and private sector where, for the first time, we’ve got responsibility for the growth of our economy.”
And growth of that economy relies on inward investment, be it from overseas or domestically, but from outside the city region.
“We have to attract more inward investment,” said McKervey. “We have got to use devolution to give us that platform to realise that we are competing on an international stage.”
For McCabe, part of that was about being able to promote the Sheffield brand to overseas investors. A brand that he said was aided by the recognition of the city’s two universities, its advanced manufacturing hub and its innovative work in healthcare and technology.
“We have got to find our own unique way of getting across to people that we are open for business, that we want to attract investment here,” said McKervey. “We have got to be confident in our ability to work together within our city region to make it a better place.”
For CPP’s Darrington, Sheffield was already being recognised as a better place. He said the city was moving up in occupiers’ opinions and was becoming a preferred city, but he cautioned that, “from the South looking north, you can’t help but be in the shadow of Manchester”.
But HS2, HS3, the Northern Powerhouse and Sheffield/Doncaster Robin Hood Airport should help the Sheffield city region find its place, agreed the panel.
“We have got an infrastructure board that is working extremely hard to put in the right connectivity,” said Scholey.
“We have got to expand on that. In terms of access to London, the east, west and north, there are a lot worse places to be than this… We have an awful lot going for us and I think devolution will help take us further.”
Darrington agreed. “With HS2 coming into Victoria Station and HS3 coming into the city, it means that as a region we could become one of the biggest transport hubs,” he said.
“The reality is the HS2 is much more than a train line,” added McKervey. “We have to start articulating the investment opportunities that it presents, not just for Sheffield, but for the greater city region.
“We have got to be positioning ourselves so we can attract the investment that will be interested in getting involved in our city region because of the fact that we are going to have high-speed rail.
“We need to move away from the negative of the past and articulate the positive.
“Let’s work together to make it the game-changing project it could be, not just nationally, but for our city region.”
And, said the panel, showing that true northern grit, the pressure was on to get on and deliver.
Four key statements
Martin McKervey
“We have got to step up to the plate in terms of our delivery to make commercial, swift, sensible decisions to help all of our stakeholders across the city region.”
Simon McCabe
“A couple of years ago, a requirement was for a specific town or city, but now we are seeing requirements for Yorkshire – not Sheffield or Leeds. The occupational markets are more footloose than they ever used to be. How can Sheffield benefit from that?”
Chris Scholey
“We might not be as sexy as some areas, but at the end of the day, we want to be able to say we get on with it and we will deliver.”
Rob Darrington
“The one key message we need to get across is that we are vastly more economic from a business perspective. We have slightly lower salaries compared with the other cities and are a great place to live. The outdoor city brand is a good message to get new people into the city.”
In association with:
- Sheffield City Region
- Scarborough Group International
- Commercial Property Partners
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