Comment

Recharging the West Midlands: Six key themes for recovery

Following publication by the West Midlands Combined Authority of the ‘Recharge the West Midlands’ investment case to Government in June, Senior Director, Mat Jones, considers the implications of this recovery plan in the context of where the region stood at the time of entering the current crisis and by having regard to the foundations that exist for a return to previous levels of confidence and investment. He also sets out his thoughts on six of the key themes to be followed as the region plots its path to recovery.

Theme 1:  Set the bar and lead on a green and sustainable recovery

If the Government’s levelling up agenda is to be achieved, and if the national plan for recovery and investment is to fairly reflect the level of impact that will be suffered in the West Midlands from the COVID-19 crisis, and the ensuing recession, then the region needs to be able to demonstrate it can lead the way to a green, inclusive, and sustainable recovery.

The pandemic has created an opportunity to re-shape the economy over the long term and to reflect on what can be done to boost the region’s green credentials.

The West Midlands needs to place itself at the heart of how carbon reduction and climate resilience can be embedded into economic planning (matching the Government’s own commitment for Carbon Neutrality by 2050 and the region’s by 2041). It needs to be exemplary in how it delivers on equal distribution of the benefits of recovery, through inclusivity, and an even spread of the health and wellbeing benefits of good growth.

There is no question that plans for recovery in the West Midlands must be genuinely green. They must be sustainable in terms of their resilience, longevity, inclusivity, and their care for the environment. While growth needs to be stimulated, it should not be at all costs.

The current crisis presents an inflexion point for the region’s economy. There is now a golden opportunity for the region to lead the way in creating a greener economy that provides support to innovative and forward looking industries and services, as well as a commitment to sustainable development.

With many local authorities having declared climate emergencies, and with the likes of Birmingham City Council already well underway with its ‘Route to Zero’ corporate agenda, a key priority for the region over the next decade and beyond should be the creation of thousands of green jobs, that complement measures for improved air quality, greater care for the health and wellbeing of residents, and enhanced attention to the social value that investment and development can bring, including to the most deprived parts.

Theme 2: Prioritise health and wellbeing - with ‘good growth’ at the heart of all investment

It is clear that a focus on health should be fundamental to economic and social recovery across the region. There can be little debate about the merits of investment into healthcare facilities, not just in the form of new hospitals and associated infrastructure, but more particularly the need for a renewed focus within the region on enhancing its existing strengths for life sciences and medical innovation. Opportunities for development and investment in the built environment should be used to provide for social wellbeing. Other benefits linked to the creation of ‘healthy cities’ should also come more to the fore. While the focus at the moment is rightly on health protection, there will be a shift over time to prevention and life-extension, and this will provide scope for the region to respond positively.

A commitment to investing in innovative new healthcare treatments and technologies should be a cornerstone of future growth plans, not least because of the wider socio-economic benefits that could be brought to the region.

The search for a vaccine for COVID-19, alongside the rolling out of expanded testing capacity nationally, has shown the existing gaps in provision across the country. Now is the time for these gaps to be filled, for example through the development of a word class health innovation park at Selly Oak in Birmingham through plans being brought forward by the University of Birmingham with their development partners.

The park is due to provide a home for a ‘Precision Health Technologies Accelerator’, and will help to establish the region as a leading economic hub for health innovation which will attract a further clustering of research facilities and associated investment in infrastructure. Other regional medical and academic institutions can then flourish from the stimulus created, including through data based life sciences research.

Theme 3: Bring forward big investment - to rebuild confidence and create jobs

Investment is critical to both rebuilding confidence and also for the creation of jobs. There are a number of major catalytic projects within Birmingham alone that could prove critical to re-stimulating confidence. A strong commitment to these, alongside suitable emphasis on the importance of high quality design and place-making, could send out an important message that the city stands full-square behind its long held aspiration to become world class, as most notably articulated through its Big City Plan (2011).

While not yet halfway through its planned twenty year lifespan as a vision for the city centre, the Big City Plan is in the process of being refreshed to align with the city’s ‘Route to Zero’ sustainability agenda and to reflect other changes in context, most notably in respect of the ways that regeneration can bring forward social benefits, provide for healthy cities, and deliver wellbeing for the region.

The official confirmation of Lendlease as the preferred development partner for the £1bn mixed-use transformation of the Smithfield site adjacent to the Bullring, and the commencement of a planning application process, will represent a major statement of intent by the city, and will show that its rejuvenation has only really just started. Other major development projects such as Martineau Galleries by Hammerson, which is specifically highlighted by ‘Recharging the West Midlands’, will provide a new commercial and residential quarter welcoming the arrival of visitors to the city, as well as the exciting and transformational plans for the redevelopment of large parts of Digbeth, including the recent major application submission from Oval Real Estate for 25 ha of land around the Custard Factory which will also deliver a distinctive skypark for the city.

There will also be opportunities to capitalise on the development and infrastructure introduced for the Commonwealth Games including at Perry Bar, as well as a range of other key strategic locations across the region such as those in Coventry and Wolverhampton, where investment is already being delivered, including through transport interchange improvements. Other regional opportunities to attract future high calibre occupiers across a range of sectors and to support various industries, include sites at Longbridge, Peddimore, Blythe Valley, and at I54.

There is also much scope to build upon the region’s entrepreneurial spirit by increasing the number of start-up businesses forming in the region, where they are being enabled to grow, as has been shown by the likes of Gymshark, through the provision of suitable space such as at Innovation Birmingham (where planning permission has recently been granted for almost 12,000 sq m of expansion space at Enterprise Wharf).

Theme 4: Revolutionise innovation in creative, media, and digital sectors

A key focus of the region’s economic recovery plan is the development of the digital and creative sectors with an emphasis on job creation. The West Midlands is already renowned for its industrial heritage, its industriousness, and its entrepreneurial spirit as characterised over many decades by various advanced manufacturing businesses and outputs. But the future could hold as much opportunity in the cultural and creative offerings of the region, whether through sport, leisure, media, arts, design, or film/TV production.

As the world changes, there will be many future opportunities to capitalise on the region’s innate ability to innovate. The nature of the industries will change and evolve, such as through the blossoming creative, digital, and media related businesses in Digbeth, including the promise of new studio facilities to come.

The opportunities for growth in these innovative sectors are multiple, and many are not yet known, or have not yet been crystallised. The inclusion of flexible and affordable managed workspaces within mixed-use projects will become more prevalent, and there should be a drive across the wider region to commercialise R&D within a range of sectors linked to universities, whilst providing access to new jobs for all sections of the local community.

Theme 5: Capitalise on the region’s connectivity and generate additionality from infrastructure

Not long after the formal announcement of national lockdown at the end of March, the region received the news from Government that ‘notice to proceed’ had been granted for contractors to begin work on HS2. News that was overwhelmingly well received given the critical nature of HS2 for the planned investment in wider infrastructure along with the scale of potential economic development to be generated around stations, such as at Arden Cross, and beyond. Planning consent for the station at Curzon Street followed soon after in May, with approval having since been granted last month for the Interchange station close to the airport and NEC. The fact that work is now well underway on this huge national infrastructure project should provide a major boost for the region.

The potential transformative effects of HS2 for the region are difficult to overstate. The project has been central to much of the region’s confidence over recent years and it has had an incredibly positive effect on the business case for wider infrastructure improvements, not to mention the attraction of relocated businesses and additionality in terms of investment.

There is now momentum which should be captured and accelerated, including through engagement with Government for funding of other projects that capitalise on the region’s central location and level of connectivity. Local communities will also benefit from projects that invest in the reopening of railway stations, and through additional capacity and enhancement of public transport facilities, including extension of the Midland Metro network, along with the delivery of new Sprint routes.

The region’s automotive heritage makes it ideally placed to also become the heart of innovation in mobility, linked to electric and autonomous vehicles, and battery manufacturing. Coventry in particular could be set to lead the charge given its history and the presence of the National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC) at the University of Warwick, as well as the links to JLR and the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre (part of the Government’s Farraday Battery Challenge), all of which could be key ingredients to the growth of green industry in the region, especially if combined with the potential attraction of a Gigafactory.

These types of moves could help to facilitate a fundamental shift in the quality and availability of strategic employment land following the recent Government approval of a new Strategic Rail Freight Interchange close to Junction 12 of the M6 in South Staffordshire together with the bringing forward of delivery at other key sites across the region, such as at Peddimore, as part of a portfolio of investment opportunities for national and international occupiers that reflect the economic landscape of the future.

While it may currently seem little more than a novel idea, the plans to create a 300km autonomous vehicle trial route from Coventry to Birmingham - developed by TfWM in collaboration with Coventry City Council, Birmingham City Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council - could become a pioneering example of how the region’s automotive past can be innovatively converted into a sustainable focus for future investment.

Theme 6: Focus on inclusivity and sustainability in housing

The recent consultation for a 20 year ‘Inclusive Growth Strategy’ in East Birmingham provides an indication of the shift that is already underway. The draft document seeks to balance plans for transformative growth through the delivery of improved public transport connections, alongside proposals to tackle the socio-economic challenges of the area and improve the lives of residents. We expect to see more such inclusive plans over the coming years as the region and wider country plan for a recovery from which the benefits are more equitably spread. Greater attention is also likely to be given to the promotion of opportunities for development outside of city centres.

Alongside sustainable plan making, which should include improved rates of delivery of a higher quality and a wider mix of housing, the use of modern methods of construction could also be significant to future supply, as recognised by the recent deal between the WMCA and Urban Splash to deliver 10,000 quality new homes.

Greater consideration will need to be given to the homes that really meet the needs of the people in the region, especially if the goal of attracting and retaining talent is to be achieved. And yes, that should include options for the release of Green Belt land where appropriate to provide homes with gardens and access to local green spaces and other key facilities such as schools, as part of a more enlightened approach to creating self-sustaining, and therefore sustainable communities, to meet the huge currently unmet housing needs of the region.

As communities emerge from the current crisis, and working patterns adapt, there is growing evidence that development needs are changing. There appears to be greater desire for gardens, open space, and lower densities than has been seen over recent years through the development of city centre apartment towers. While urban brownfield redevelopment and high density proposals will continue to form an important element of sustainable housing delivery, especially where accessible by public transport, this potential change in consumer preferences will have an impact on the demand for greenfield sites. Neighbourhoods, high streets, and town centres will also need to change to respond to new behaviours and a more localised provision of services and amenities.

Conclusion

In summary, although the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly created a number of significant challenges for the West Midlands, not least the scale of impact caused by the current crisis to the local economy, it has also created an opportunity to reset, rebuild and recharge how we plan for good growth over the medium to long term. The inherent characteristics of the region and its industrial base provide considerable scope for reinvention, including in the form of green industry that is capable of generating many jobs and will attract investment in infrastructure including public transport and sustainable travel. The region must pull together and develop new lasting partnerships that capitalise on existing strengths, and that work towards the creation of a resilient, green, sustainable and inclusive economy to support the people of the West Midlands into the future. There is no reason why the region cannot lead the way. Now is the time to reset and recharge.

30 September 2020