Construction industry reacts to devolution plans

UK Construction Media finds out industry reaction to George Osborne’s devolution ambitions.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, was in Manchester yesterday to talk about the devolution plans for northern cities. 

In his first speech since the General Election, the Chancellor spoke about the need to close the economic gap between the north and south, which featured in the Conservative manifesto and was outlined in David Cameron’s speech at Downing Street last Friday. 

Yesterday in Manchester, Mr Osborne said: “Over a long period, under governments of all political colours, our economy has become unbalanced and our capital city has come to dominate more and more. 

“The answer to that is not to pull London down. It’s to all our benefit that we have one of the great global cities in these Isles. 

“What we need to do is build up the rest of our country. In the last couple of years that has started to happen. But to really close that long term growth gap, we need to take further radical action. That’s why I’m here today.”

The Chancellor’s vision for a Northern Powerhouse includes investment in transport with high speed rail across the north, upgrades of key roads, electrified railways and scientific investments. 

Mr Osborne added: “Within 40 miles of Manchester you have Leeds, Sheffield and Liverpool, Lancashire, Cheshire and Yorkshire – a belt of cities that contains more than 10 million people.

“Bring those cities together, connect Liverpool to Hull, the north west to Yorkshire and the north east, and the whole will be greater than the parts.”

Devolution – which was agreed with elected leaders of Greater Manchester last autumn – will give power over policing, skills, housing, transport, and over a £6Bn health and social care budget. 

And a central part of the speech that will be given to the Queen is for a ‘radical’ model of city government where power will be handed to cities to get the control agreed with Greater Manchester. 

But what will this mean for the construction industry? UK Construction Media canvassed opinion to find out. 

The British Property Federation (BPF) hailed the idea and the amount of development it could ‘unlock’ throughout the UK. 

Chief Executive of BPF, Melanie Leech, believes the decision “makes sense.”

“Local politicians need to be given the confidence to create their own vision for encouraging growth and investment within their areas,” she said. 

“It makes much more sense for a local authority away from Westminster to make strategic development decisions in its area than for those in Central Government to do so, and it is great to see the Government delivering on this promise.”

The Director General of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Nick Baveystock, is positive about the benefits this could bring but warned against the Government believing the same method could work for every city. 

He said: “The devolution of transport powers is an opportunity to be seized and this renewed commitment from Government is encouraging. Scotland and London have shown that locating transport powers closer to those it affects can lead to greater investment and better decision making – and this Bill should pave the way for others to also benefit from greater autonomy.

“There is however no ‘one size fits all’ devolution model. Government must therefore resist the desire for standardisation and indeed be guided by the needs, ambition and capacity of each area.”

Professor Charles Egbu, Dean of London South Bank University’s School of the Built Environment and Architecture, sees it as crucial that the devolution process can give a “holistic consideration of construction activities,” adding: “The Chancellor’s plan on city devolution for transfer of power from Whitehall to English cities should be cautiously welcomed, especially if it would positively benefit the construction industry and users of construction services and outputs. 

“The construction sector should be looking at how any devolution deal is able to increase funding, improve decision making and improve flexible approaches for improved construction activity encouragements. 

“It is important that devolution allows for a joined-up and holistic consideration of construction activities and not a piecemeal offering. 

“There is also an expectation that the spending review towards the end of 2015 will shed light on some of the major investments that would benefit Manchester and some of the northern regions in England, covering railways, roads and science parks. I look forward to this.”

Managing Director of The Vinden Partnership, Peter Vinden, believes that addressing infrastructure is crucial to making the north “an exciting place for businesses.”

He said: We have been given the opportunity to harness the region’s powers, so now is the time to present ambitious plans for the future and remain committed to seeing them through.

“The key to keeping this momentum going is to make sure that we understand the bigger picture, as well as ensuring we accomplish the vision with attention to detail. This will keep the ongoing plans from becoming too London-centric, and make the north stand out both nationally and globally.

 “The next challenge is to appropriately address the ongoing need for stronger inner-city infrastructure, improved roads and advanced capabilities for the airport, making the north a connected and exciting place for businesses.”

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