Across the north of England, young people are making choices that will shape the rest of their lives. Will they stay in the North or will they leave? And if they do stay, what awaits them? A long, healthy life in which they can fulfil their ambitions and enjoy themselves doing it, or failing to reach their potential in an under-performing economy?
Those young people may have never heard of the Northern Powerhouse, but decisions being taken by politicians and business people today will do much to decide the course of their lives. That is why becg is proud to sponsor this New Statesman report. Getting the North’s built environment right is fundamental to the success of the Powerhouse. With offices in Manchester and Leeds we work with public and private sector clients to facilitate investment, unlock support for new developments and ensure the needs of local communities are met and their concerns heard.
Devolution
The case for strong city regions with powerful elected mayors has been well made. Those mayors need place-making powers to effectively shape our environment. The ongoing debate about the shape of devolution in Yorkshire creates challenges for the Powerhouse. Should devolution align with the various economic centres of England’s biggest county or should it follow a romantic ideal of a “One Yorkshire” mayor? With government and business seemingly preferring a city region approach and elections for a Sheffield City Region mayor scheduled for May, time is running out for Yorkshire to grab the “devolution dividend” that Manchester, Liverpool and the Tees Valley have reaped since the first mayoral elections last year.
High density versus urban sprawl
Will the people of the North be better served by a Northern Powerhouse that builds up – increasing density for both residential and office space in our towns and cities – or that builds out, creating new suburbs on green fields?
There is no doubt that, if the North is to grow and thrive, both approaches will be needed, but there are real benefits to increasing urban density. Higher density living makes it easier and cheaper to provide people with high quality infrastructure, healthcare and leisure facilities. becg works with clients across all built environment sectors and we understand the many challenges to getting development right.
At a city level, delivering the right mix of housing is critical. The balance between privately owned, privately rented and socially rented needs to be carefully considered if the North is to compete and attract people with the mix of skills it will need to prosper.
Jobs and skills
A child growing up in the North will, on average, end up less well-educated, less skilled and earning less than their counterpart in London or the South East. For the gap to close, that must change. It remains one of the biggest and toughest challenges we face. It isn’t good enough for anyone to sit back and see this as someone else’s problem. It is a problem for all of us and we must all be a part of the solution.
We work with clients who are increasingly focused on developing their workforce, recruiting local people and taking on apprentices and graduates; helping them attract the talent they need.
Infrastructure: transport, energy, utilities and broadband
The Northern Powerhouse debate is often focused on better connectivity between our great cities. Northern Powerhouse rail is undoubtedly a key plank of the vision for our region competing on a world stage, but it isn’t the complete solution. For the vision to be turned into a reality, the same focus that has been given to transport, needs to be given to developing the North’s energy assets; investing in our utilities and delivering high-speed broadband to our towns and cities.
At becg we understand that good communications can smooth the delivery of transformational investment. When faced with a new development in their area, most people will reasonably ask: “What’s in it for me?”. The developer with a good answer to that question is not only more likely to succeed more quickly, but will generate the best outcomes for the area too.
Open to the right investment
The Northern Powerhouse must meet the challenge of Brexit and find ways to attract more inward investment. Councils need to be outward-looking and business-friendly to build stronger relationships with the private sector – an approach that becg is able to support.
Better health
We must invest in healthier towns and cities. Recent research in The Lancet suggests that people living in higher-density cities are less likely to be overweight or obese than those in sparser suburbs – they walk more and take the car less. Cities also offer easier access to high quality health facilities and specialist hospitals. However, air pollution remains a major challenge. The health effects of new developments (good and bad) are easily overlooked, but with the strains on the NHS and social care growing, we see good development as playing a key role.
More leisure activities
The young professionals the Northern Powerhouse needs to drive our economy don’t want to live somewhere boring. We need to give them choices for spending their disposable income including cinemas, theatres, cafes, restaurants, bars, shops, dance studios, gyms, 3G football pitches, leisure centres, sports stadiums, and festivals etc.
Making it happen
We at becg are passionate about creating the right future for young people, allowing them to fulfil their dreams in the Northern Powerhouse.
The built environment impacts on every aspect of our lives. Developing our town and city centres is complex. Regenerating brownfield sites is always going to be a tougher prospect than greenfield development. But with effective partnerships and appropriate powers, much more can be done.
Good communication can make the difference between successfully delivering the change we need and seeing projects stumble and fail.
We need a better built environment that supports our economic growth, providing the foundation for society to thrive. The next generation is central to this – providing them with the homes and jobs to help our economy flourish.
Kevin Whitmore is director, head of North at becg.
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