Cities | LocalGov


City leaders call for more support for coastal areas 10/03/2025 City leaders have called for a ‘comprehensive strategy’ to tackle disadvantages in coastal communities.
Hull bids for UNESCO status 03/02/2025 Hull has set its sights on earning recognition as a UNESCO Creative City of Music.
Regeneration: Reviving our town centres 21/01/2025 Rowenna Davis, associate partner at Global Future Foundation, sets out 12 principles for reviving our town centres.
Rayner: Prescott was an inspiration to me 25/11/2024 Former secretary of state John Prescott who has died aged 86 ‘revived British cities and led the refurbishment of thousands of council homes', says Rayner.
Councils invited to bid for nature funding 02/10/2024 Local authorities across the UK have been invited to apply for grants to improve access to nature and green spaces in urban areas.
Call to fix ‘incomplete patchwork’ of devolution deals 13/05/2024 The next government must extend devolution to 85% of England to address an ‘incomplete patchwork of mismatched deals’, a think-tank has argued.
Chancellor urged to provide funding certainty for urban transport 27/02/2024 Transport authorities have called on the Government to prioritise long-term funding certainty for public transport and active travel in city regions in next week’s Spring Budget.
Million more public transport commuters needed, think-tank says 29/11/2023 The largest cities in Britain should aim to boost the number of public transport commuters by nearly one million to reduce congestion and pollution, a think-tank has said.
Campaigners warn of ‘silent war’ on bus services 28/11/2023 Bus services have seen a dramatic decline over the past 15 years, with provision decreasing by more than 60% in 80 local authority areas, research reveals.
Call for local income tax collection for biggest city regions 08/11/2023 More taxation powers, including the ability to keep a proportion of income tax, should be devolved to England’s three biggest city regions, a think-tank has argued.
Funding boost for dilapidated Hull building 10/10/2023 A project to convert a vacant city centre building into ‘Grade A’ managed office space has been granted £1.5m.
15 minute cities 'don't exist' 09/10/2023 Civil servants are battling to explain to ministers that concepts like ’15-minute cities’, said to restrict people’s ability to shop, ‘don’t really exist'.
Recycled soil used to create Liverpool’s largest park 08/08/2023 Liverpool City Council has used recycled soil from a former landfill site to create one of the largest transformed urban green spaces in England.
Oxford and Swindon top ‘good growth’ index 26/05/2023 Oxford and Swindon have come out top in a ranking of cities according to their residents’ economic wellbeing, with Bristol and Exeter following closely behind.
Councils call for more powers to address climate crisis 11/05/2023 Government must provide more powers to councils and provide clarity, capacity and funding to address the climate crisis, a national cities network has urged.
Boosting urban biodiversity with new innovations in green infrastructure 24/04/2023 Cities play a critical role in addressing biodiversity loss. Alexander Ilsink, Mobilane, looks at how to maximise the potential of green infrastructure.
Eco-friendly gardeners should be offered council tax cut 20/04/2023 Residents who look after their gardens in an eco-friendly manner should be offered reduced council tax rates, researchers say.
Empowering cities could bring £420m economic boost 23/03/2023 Bringing together employment and skills services in urban areas could result in a £420m boost to the national economy, according to local government leaders.
How can we plan cities to work better for women? 07/03/2023 Aoife Hand, planner at Carter Jonas (Cambridge), argues that with gender-sensitive planning, cities can be much more inclusive.
Council climate plans failing vulnerable people 06/03/2023 Most councils across Europe are failing to consider the needs of vulnerable people sufficiently when planning for climate change, according to a study.
City leaders call for £100m boost to ‘cultural engagement’ 07/02/2023 Cities with low ‘cultural engagement’ are more likely to be deprived, according to a new report.
‘Hidden’ unemployment rates reveal deepening divides 31/01/2023 Nine out of 10 of the UK’s cities and towns with the highest hidden unemployment rates are in the North, new study reveals.
Think tank calls for £14.5bn ‘city innovation zones’ 14/12/2022 A think tank has called on the Government to invest £14.5bn to build ‘city innovation zones’ in Birmingham, Glasgow, and Manchester.
Colchester and Reading join Key Cities network 21/11/2022 Colchester and Reading today announced that they have joined Key Cities, a network representing the UK’s urban areas, to help drive their economic growth.
Cities require urgent rethink, study says 18/10/2022 Britain’s cities require urgent transformation, including more green spaces and public transport, if the country is to meet its net zero targets, study says.
Local government ‘over-centralised’, think tanks say 02/09/2022 Local government is over-centralised, inefficient, and under-resourced and is harming the UK economy, a new report says.
Index reveals high levels of inequality between UK cities 22/08/2022 The impact of the predicted recession is likely to be felt more in some cities than others, a new study of the economic resilience of UK cities has revealed.
Boost cities to level up UK, think tank says 27/06/2022 Levelling up needs billions of pounds worth of investment in cities – a level of investment not currently being considered by policy makers, think tanks say.
Creating a Green Infrastructure Masterplan 07/06/2022 William Eichler finds out how a new toolkit is helping local decision makers transform Birmingham city centre into a greener, safer and healthier place to live.
Activating our high streets by rethinking housing models and embracing co-living 06/06/2022 Simon Bird argues that by finding different ways to live and activate spaces, we can create new communities and boost the vitality of our urban economies.
Council launches consultation on £250m town centre plan 25/05/2022 Kirklees Council has launched a public consultation on the ‘cultural heart’ of its £250m, 10-year blueprint to transform Huddersfield town centre.
Eight places given city status to mark Platinum Jubilee 20/05/2022 Eight locations have been awarded city status as part of the 2022 Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
City planning should be based on ‘health first principle’ 05/04/2022 The UK’s planning system should be reformed to follow a ‘health first principle’, according to a new report.
City centres lose nearly a years’ worth of sales due to COVID-19 24/01/2022 Businesses in city and large town centres have lost more than a third (35%) of their potential takings due to COVID-19, think tank finds.
List of 39 places applying for city status published 24/12/2021 The Government has published a list of the 39 places in the competition for city status.
Cities should be central to ‘levelling up’ agenda, think tank says 18/11/2021 The Government should focus on investing in cities outside of London rather than spreading investment too thinly across small towns, think tank recommends.
Southend to become a city in honour of Sir David Amess 19/10/2021 The Prime Minister has announced the Queen has granted Southend with city status to honour of Sir David Amess.
How the 15-minute concept is key to tackling the climate crisis 14/10/2021 The concept of a 15-minute city, where everything you need is just a quarter of an hour away, could now be evolving into the ‘15-minute neighbourhood’. Dr Jose Hernandez? explains why.
City of Culture 2025 longlist announced 08/10/2021 The Government today announced the eight places that have been longlisted for the prestigious UK City of Culture 2025 title.
Dudley bids for city status 15/07/2021 Dudley Council will be putting forward a bid for city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations next year.
Remote working sees major cities lose billions in spending, research warns 21/06/2021 Five of the UK’s largest cities could lose £322m a month in city centre spending if people work from home in the long-term, according to new analysis.
Battle of the Smart Cities 04/05/2021 Piers Mulroney explores how the race to innovate, digitise and decarbonise is driving the mayoral elections in Birmingham and Manchester.
Johnson announces £23.6m Truro Deal 07/04/2021 Truro has secured £23.6m from the Towns Fund to boost the local economy, create jobs and new homes.
Key Cities group welcomes four new members 03/02/2021 Four more cities - Bath, Exeter, Lincoln and Wrexham - have joined the Key Cities group.
Burnham calls for more Covid-19 support for English regions 12/05/2020 The Government has been urged to provide extra support for cities outside London to deal with the cost of easing lockdown restrictions.
Southern cities provide more jobs for low-skilled workers than in the North 07/03/2019 Employment opportunities are greater for low-skilled workers in southern English cities than those in the North or Midlands, a think tank has discovered.
British cities bear the brunt of austerity, think tank reveals 28/01/2019 A think tank has called for an end to local government austerity as it reveals that Whitehall cuts have hit cities twice as hard as the rest of Britain.
UK cities have 'more than recovered', says latest index 01/11/2018 Improving skills levels and new business formation have been the key long-term drivers of city growth since the financial crisis, according to analysts.
Whitehall 'neglecting' smaller cities and towns, report warns 03/10/2018 The Government’s focus on major cities ‘neglects’ the contribution that smaller cities, towns and communities can make to economic growth, according to study.
May announces £840m public transport investment 28/09/2018 Prime minister Theresa May has announced £840m investment in public transport links as part of the £1.7bn Transforming Cities Fund.
City leaders call on PM to take action on air pollution 28/08/2018 Leaders of the UK’s major cities have joined forces to urge Theresa May to take ‘tough and urgent’ action to deal with air pollution.
Support cities for a £200bn boost to the economy, says Key Cities 27/06/2018 Key cities could add a further £214bn to the economy over the next decade if the Government supports them to raise productivity to the national average, the Key Cities Group has said.
Think tank warns struggling high streets are 'too reliant on retail' 26/06/2018 City centres must swap shops for offices, housing and public space if they are to prosper, according to a leading think tank.
Cities must embrace technological change to prosper in future 18/06/2018 As we stand on the cusp of another age of automation, Andrew Carter says cities need to prepare and adapt to the coming changes to prosper in the future.
Tax-raising powers for mayors could help reduce health inequalities, report says 15/06/2018 A leading research group has called for cities to be given more powers to help improve public health.
Tough decisions needed to protect commercial heart of cities 11/04/2018 As urban centres change transform, the priority should be on protecting and expanding the commercial space in city centres, rather than encouraging more residential development, argues Andrew Carter.
City regions get £1.7bn funding boost to transform transport 20/11/2017 Prime minister Theresa May was today announcing major new government backing for UK research and development in industry and transport between cities.
Prosperous cities to be hit ‘hardest’ by Brexit, think tank says 27/07/2017 Relatively prosperous cities will be hardest hit by the 'economic shock' of Brexit, according to researchers.
Jobs boom in cities accompanied by low urban wages, report reveals 25/01/2016 Nearly a million new jobs have been created in British cities since 2010, but the average salary has decreased, according to a new report from Centre for Cities.