COMMENT Progress on the UK’s levelling-up agenda seems to have faltered. Many of the country’s less affluent areas are still in need of significant regeneration and a boost in opportunities. With difficult economic times ahead, the need to address regional inequalities is greater than ever, and local communities across the UK are calling out for immediate support and action. So why has the government largely failed to achieve what it has promised, and how else can we drive forward levelling up?
While the public sector is stuttering, the private sector has the potential to be a real driver of change. Its agility and firepower can create meaningful progress in levelling up the UK in the immediate term, and nowhere is this truer than in the logistics industry.
Local impact
Logistics as a sector can make a significant contribution to the levelling-up agenda, generating numerous economic and social benefits in areas of the country which typically have fewer opportunities. More than 70% of the UK’s demand for industrial and logistics space is found in the North of England and the Midlands, providing a hub of economic activity in areas such as Doncaster and Nottingham and helping to bridge the productivity gap between North and South. Job creation, improved infrastructure, training and upskilling, and a boost to the economy are just a few of the benefits that stem from the industry.
The British Property Federation estimates that the industrial and logistics industry generates £232bn of gross value added for the UK, with business rates from tenants within logistics parks offering a significant contribution to the local economy. The BPF also estimates that the industry employs 3.8m people.
It is not just the creation of high-quality jobs that provides social value. The logistics sector is also responsible for significant training and upskilling in local areas, again spanning a wide range of jobs and disciplines and helping to address the UK’s yawning skills gap.
Infrastructure is another key area where logistics can create a tangible benefit to its surroundings. New developments bring with them strategic infrastructure such as motorway junction upgrades and link roads, in turn often contributing to the delivery of new homes, which spring up in the area due to improved transport links and job prospects.
Green infrastructure is also a large part of this, chiming with the idea that sustainable investment and the levelling-up agenda should go hand-in-hand. Logistics parks lend themselves to solar panel installations, with vast flat roof spaces available, and also have scope for other renewable power infrastructure such as wind turbines or geothermal energy. These not only help to transition the sector to clean energy, but also feed surplus electricity back into the grid for wider use.
A more literal park
It is important to remember that the logistics parks of today are a far cry from the barren swathes of concrete and warehouses they once were. At GLP’s sites, communal green space is incorporated and many of our larger developments have wide expanses of parkland, ecological ponds, forests, wildflower meadows, beehives and walkways. These help to improve wellbeing for employees and are also open to the public, offering a recreational space to appreciate nature and get active, providing social benefits alongside jobs and infrastructure.
The trends underpinning the logistics sector mean it is poised for considerable growth. The industry is a critical part of how we buy our clothes, source our food, receive medication, manufacture goods and access day-to-day services. The e-commerce boom means the industry has ballooned, and as global digitisation continues this is set to provide an ongoing and growing need for logistics. Private investment is flowing into the sector, buoyed by high levels of demand on a global scale.
This creates vast scope for logistics to drive the levelling-up agenda and to take responsibility for an even greater share of the programme in the coming years. Representing 14% of the UK’s economy, the logistics sector has the potential to have outsized impact in spreading economic benefits, talent and infrastructure evenly across all regions of the country. Initiatives such as the BPF’s warehousing board are helping to drive the sector’s levelling-up capabilities and build wider understanding of the vast socio-economic benefits it can deliver.
While public policy is going round in circles without meaningful progress from the government materialising, logistics will be a major way that the private sector can play a role in levelling up. In today’s climate, equality of opportunity and living standards is more important than ever. The logistics industry has the opportunity now to step up and make a difference.
Gwyn Stubbings is senior planning director at GLP
