latest news
Cities Outlook 2012
Our annual health check on UK cities - Cities Outlook 2012 - shows that the gap between places has widened since the recession, with cities like Cambridge, London and Edinburgh continuing to do well, while cities with struggling economies are falling further behind.
See coverage in the FT, Independent and BBC News
Strength from within
Preston plays a key role in the wider Lancashire economy and in the decade before the recession led the way in private sector job creation. Our latest Partner City report demonstrates that in order for Preston to attract more private sector jobs growth, it needs to improve its city centre. You can find more on the story in: Lancashire Evening Post and Blog Preston
Learning Curve
Our latest report - Learning Curve, supported by ICAEW - focuses on skills, and finds that there is a strong relationship between Maths and English GCSE attainment and youth unemployment, and ultimately a city's economic performance.
Read more on BBC News, the Telegraph, Egov monitor and the Huffington Post.
A Taxing Journey
The Local Government Resource Review has proposed three possible options for introducing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) to England. A note published by Centre for Cities analyses these options and how best they might suit different cities and projects. It calls for a defined "ringfenced" TIF model to be introduced but emphasises that not all cities will benefit a TIF style solution.
See coverage in Planning and LocalGov.
LEPs one year on
To mark the first anniversary of the 24 original Local Enterprise Partnerships, Centre for Cities published a short study which finds progess is varied. We recommend that Government provides additional resources and powers to stronger LEPs, and support for those that are lagging behind.
See the response in The Telegraph, Financial Times, Planning, Estates Gazette, Manchester Evening News, Northern Echo , Birmingham Post, and Fresh Business Thinking. Join the debate on the blog.
Capital Gains
As the consultation period for the Local Government Resource Review comes to a close, Centre for Cities has released a research note drawing on previous publication Room for Improvement, looking specifically at what the implications might be for London. With the changes set towards localised business rates, this note suggests that London's local authorities might benefit from pooling the rates gained across London and encourages bold measures to maximise growth across the capital.
The note has been picked up in Planning, London Loves Business, eGov Monitor and Public Finance.
Will London profit from the Olympics?
Joanna Averley contributes to the debate on CNN, with lessons from Barcelona, Montreal and Athens.
Centre for Cities welcomes Greg Clark, Minister for Cities
The Government announcement of a ministerial group dedicated to supporting UK cities is strongly welcomed by the Centre. Following the announcement of Greg Clark's additional role we hope that he will champion the economic importance of cities, ensure strategic bodies such as LEPs are given the powers to perform effectively and that he work with all UK cities, beyond the core eight in England.
See comments from the Centre in The Guardian.
Room for improvement
Our latest report Room for improvement provides an analysis of the relocalisation of business rates, ahead of the Local Government Resource Review (LGRR), and the New Homes Bonus (NHB). We demonstrate that they have the potential to incentivise local authorities to be more pro-growth and pro-development, yet urge that policy be bold and simple in order to benefit cities and the wider economy.
Room for improvement was cited in the Government's local government resource review consultation document and our Financial Incentives strand of work has been covered by The Yorkshire Post, Local Government Chronicle, eGovmonitor, Planning, Public Finance, the Express and Star and Property Week
Moving on up, moving on out?
Jobs for lower skilled workers are increasingly moving away from pricier city centres to edge-of-town locations, areas which are often less accessible by public transport. The first of our City Collaboration papers, published today, uncovers that individuals with lower level skills are likely to work in locations closer to their home and similarly are less likely to have access to private transport.
This is the first of two papers examining how links between cities might strengthen certain areas has attracted national media coverage in The Observer, The Telegraph and the Guardian as well as in LocalGov.co.uk.
UK cities: the growth split
Cities Outlook 2011 is back in the news with the FT running an extensive piece on the most vulnerable cities and those with the highest potential to grow. See the FT's interactive map and indepth analysis from Leeds and Sunderland.
Big shot or long shot?
Directly elected mayors, have the potential to overcome some of the key local governance challenges as demonstrated in the report by Centre for Cities and Institute for Government. We suggest that the model could offer greater possibility of strategic planning thanks to fixed term leadership and the exercise of formal and informal powers; as well as more accountability and firmer links with local business. However, we think the model to be outlined in the Localism Bill could go further, and propose that some cities may benefit from 'metro mayors'.
See coverage in The Guardian, MSN, Planning, the Yorkshire Post and Public Finance.
Sink or Swim?
Almost a year on from the announcement of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) their influence and power on central growth policy has increased thanks to the Budget announcement on Enterprise Zones. But the question is, have they been given enough power? And how will they convince local business to get involved? We have published a report which considers how LEPs have progressed so far and poses questions for their future.
See coverage in Planning, the Birmingham Post, Yorkshire Post and LGC.
Starter for Ten
As UK universities are faced with spending cuts, increased fees and caps on student numbers, we have released a short paper discussing how the surrounding area might be affected. With local employment and student spending displaying a greater impact on city economies than universities' interaction with business, questions are raised about how cities might work with universities for mutual economic benefit.
See national coverage on BBC News and the Guardian, as well as stories in the Yorkshire Post, Plymouth Herald, Birmingham Post, Worcester News, Public Finance, MSN, Planning and LGC.
What would Maggie do?
With Enterprise Zones likely to be reincarnated in the March Budget, we’ve launched a paper arguing that the 1980s model will neither achieve the desired outcomes nor be cost effective. Instead, ‘Local Growth Zones’, with rapid planning processes and funding towards skill interventions, are a better way of taking an area-based approach to economic growth. See coverage in the FT, Times, Belfast Telegraph, Birmingham Post and LGC.
This note forms part of our 2011 financial incentives research project, supported by CBRE and SNR Denton. To find out more about our upcoming work please contact Kieran Larkin.
Following the Budget announcement on Enterprise Zones, our research has also been picked up in the Guardian, Daily Mail, FT, the Economist and Radio 4's Today programme. The paper also regained momentum in the media after a further 11 zones were announced with an appearance on Newsnight, Radio 5 Breakfast and a mention in The Independent.
For press enquiries, please contact:
Rachel Tooby, External Affairs Manager
020 7803 4316 r.tooby@centreforcities.org
