Sutton Council's IoT pilot project
David Grasty, head of digital strategy & portfolio for Kingston and Sutton Councils, outlines how in-home sensors have improved the safety of vulnerable residents living in social housing.
Levelling up too focused on infrastructure, claims report
14/09/2021 Ministers’ ‘levelling up’ agenda is too focused on new infrastructure projects at the expense of improving key public services, councils representing English towns and cities have warned. |
Rural and coastal economies could see £51bn boost by 2030 report finds
14/09/2021 The recovery from the pandemic could deliver a £51bn economic boost to rural areas by 2030, according to a new report. |
Sheffield and Milton Keynes win £1.4m housing funding
10/09/2021 Milton Keynes and Sheffield have been awarded £1.4m to help kickstart regeneration and deliver new homes and jobs in each area. |
Councils warn half a million jobs at risk in urban centres
10/09/2021 Half a million jobs could be lost in urban centres as a result of the pandemic, new analysis has revealed today. |
Guidance to help councils boost exports published
07/09/2021 Local authority leaders are urging councils to adopt internationalisation strategies that would help local businesses export their goods and services. |
UK’s first regional bank granted licence
26/08/2021 The UK’s first regional bank has been granted its banking licence and will open the doors of its first branch in Manchester later this year. |
Building wealth from within
12/08/2021 Tom Lloyd Goodwin, associate director – policy at the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), looks at the history of community wealth-building. |
Planning policy, a logistical nightmare
09/08/2021 Consultancy Turley's Andrea Kellegher looks at how the industrial sector could drive economic recovery if councils could increase logistics land delivery. |
Three Lincolnshire councils agree new partnership
06/08/2021 Boston Borough, East Lindsey and South Holland District Councils have agreed to share a management team and workforce under the largest partnership of its kind in the country. |
Hollywood plans TV and film studio in Hertfordshire
02/08/2021 A major new film studio is to be built in Broxbourne Borough, contributing more than £300m to the local economy every year. |
Six ‘must haves’ for Boris’ levelling up vision
21/07/2021 Nigel Wilcock offers six important points to add to the levelling up debate. |
Affordable housing is UK's 'poorest performing measure' finds research
13/07/2021 More investment is needed to deliver affordable housing and greater employment opportunities if the Government is to meet its 'levelling up' ambitions, a report has revealed. |
St Helens MBC: Dream team looks to a bright future
12/07/2021 St Helens is reinventing itself with a new breed of council and radical projects that will revitalise the borough |
20 years of economic interventions have failed to help poorest communities, report warns
07/07/2021 The last 20 years of local economic interventions have consistently failed to address the inequalities across the UK’s most deprived communities, a new report has warned today. |
Green light for UK's first gigaplant
07/07/2021 The UK's first battery gigaplant has been given planning permission by Northumberland County Council. |
Council chiefs launch campaign to ‘Build Back Local’
06/07/2021 Local authority leaders have insisted that the Government must guarantee long-term investment for local services in order to ensure the country’s economic and social recovery after the pandemic. |
Net zero could generate £330bn investment into UK, commission finds
02/07/2021 Meeting net zero in London and the UK’s Core Cities could bring up to £330bn of investment into the UK, new analysis has revealed. |
Sunak announces launch of UK Infrastructure Bank
17/06/2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak today announced the launch of a UK Infrastructure Bank which the Government argues will help level up the country by funding infrastructure projects. |
LEPs: A year like no other
15/06/2021 Alun Rogers, chair of Stoke and Staffordshire LEP, on the 2020-2021 annual review and his hopes for the future of the LEP. |
Over £600m awarded to 26 new Town Deals
08/06/2021 The Government has announced the latest round of towns deals, which will see 26 towns across England share over £600m. |
Oxford-Cambridge Arc: environment actions not rhetoric
04/06/2021 Cllr Bridget Smith outlines the five Principles that will turn the Ox-Cam region into a ‘Green Arc.’ |
Building Back Better: a “sharp and clear focus” is required by all parties
25/05/2021 Bev Hurley outlines the three issues that need tackling in order to Build Back Better. |
Report finds cities hit by 'Zoomshock' are best placed for economic recovery
21/05/2021 Cities have been hollowed out by COVID but they are still best placed to drive the recovery, a report by economic growth specialists Metro Dynamics has said. |
What should our local authorities look like after COVID-19?
21/05/2021 Martin McFadyen explores how local authorities have rapidly adapted since the COVID-19 crisis and how they can continue the speed of digital transformation. |
A further 57 high streets chosen for £830m funding boost
19/05/2021 The Prime Minister has announced 57 high streets in England will share over £830m to help them reopen and recover from the pandemic. |
Supporting local authorities to level up economies
19/05/2021 How can the construction industry support the public sector to achieve the government’s ambition of levelling up? Paul Kelly reports. |
New index reveals most and least prosperous local authorities
13/05/2021 A new index to track the Government's progress on its 'levelling up' agenda has been launched today by a think tank. |
Devolution must focus on economy, says think-tank
06/05/2021 Devolution needs to focus on rebuilding the economy rather than local government reorganisation, a think-tank has claimed. |
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. |
Unlocking the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc
07/04/2021 Alex Robinson argues communities and the environment must be central to the Oxford-Cambridge Arc strategy to get local buy-in. |
Levelling up funding is 'poorly targeted' report warns
25/03/2021 There are 6.5 million people living in deprived local authorities that will not be helped by the Government's levelling up funding, new analysis has revealed. |
East Midlands councils launch development corporation
24/03/2021 A consortium of local authorities in the East Midlands is taking a major step forwards with proposals to launch a body which could trial a new model for planning and cross-regional economic development. |
UCL study calls for ‘21st century approach to prosperity’
16/03/2021 A new study has criticised the Government’s top down levelling-up agenda and calls for what it calls a ‘21st century approach to prosperity’. |
Why economic growth models must underpin effective HE collaboration
09/03/2021 Jonathan Guest explores how economic development professionals can work effectively with Higher Education Institutions to drive growth. |
Why data must unite UK Infrastructure Bank and Levelling Up Fund
08/03/2021 Dr Nicola M Headlam explains why a data-led approach is absolutely vital for local government to avoid spending billions on white elephants. |
Budget 2021: Leeds wins bank as infrastructure cash goes North
03/03/2021 The new National Infrastructure Bank will be based in Leeds, the chancellor revealed alongside other Budget announcements badged under the Government’s ‘leveling up’ agenda. |
Local partners welcome £250m Northern Ireland investment deal
24/02/2021 The UK Government is set to sign a £250m investment agreement with local partners in Northern Ireland to boost the economic potential of the region. |
Plan could double economic output of Oxford-Cambridge Arc to £200bn, minister says
18/02/2021 The Government has announced a ‘spatial framework’ plan aimed at transforming the economic and cultural potential of the area stretching between Oxford and Cambridge. |
Think tank's launches levelling up Big Bang theory
15/02/2021 The Government should launch a Northern Big Bang to ‘unleash a torrent of investment into the Northern economy’ says a report from a Conservative think-tank. |
Key Cities group welcomes four new members
03/02/2021 Four more cities - Bath, Exeter, Lincoln and Wrexham - have joined the Key Cities group. |
Pandemic is 'levelling down' the South, report warns
25/01/2021 The economic damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic will make it four times harder to level up the North and Midlands, a new study has revealed. |
A ‘bottom up’ response to Brexit
21/01/2021 Paul Frainer argues Brexit and COVID-19 means we are at a crossroads economically, socially and environmentally. |
UK cities and towns hardest hit by COVID-19 likely to recover fastest, report finds
20/01/2021 The cities worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic are likely to make the fastest economic recovery, new analysis has revealed today. |
COVID-19 living standards hit ‘ahead, rather than behind us’, think tank warns
18/01/2021 The coming year is set to mark the peak of the pandemic-induced living standards downturn for households, especially those on lower incomes, think tank warns. |
Sampling COVID’s impact on Surrey
14/01/2021 Michael Coughlin describes how Surrey CC is developing a ‘rich and granular’ understanding of how its residents, communities and the local economy are being impacted by the pandemic. |
What do we want our high streets to look like next Christmas?
05/01/2021 Vidhya Alakeson argues that community businesses provide a tremendous opportunity to create vibrant and resilient high streets and communities. |
Driving community wealth and green jobs in Lewes
17/12/2020 Isaac Stanley looks at how Lewes DC is using the potential of community wealth building to increase opportunities for ‘green’ jobs, and to tackle both economic injustice and the threat posed by climate change. |
Think tank calls for £164bn stimulus in spending review
23/11/2020 The UK’s economy needs a £164bn cash injection to restart it fully after the COVID-19 crisis, a think tank has said. |
Regions losing faith in levelling-up agenda, survey reveals
10/11/2020 Only a fifth of people from the Midlands and the North think the Government is doing enough to level up the economy, according to a new study. |
Hollywood firm agrees deal to build Dagenham studio
04/11/2020 Barking and Dagenham Council has signed a deal with a Hollywood developer to build a film and TV production centre in Dagenham. |
Supporting our young people in the path to economic recovery
03/11/2020 Clare Hatton explains how the West Midlands Combined Authority has made it a priority to support all young people, but especially those not in education, employment or training (NEET). |
Seven areas across England set to receive nearly £180m investment
27/10/2020 Communities in seven areas across England are set to benefit from up to £178.7m in new Town Deals, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has announced. |
Blue wall rebels call for economic kickstart
27/10/2020 Northern Tory MPs led by the former Northern Powerhouse minister Jake Berry have urged their government to kickstart its promised ‘levelling up’ agenda with a Northern Economic Recovery Plan. |
Coronavirus leads to scrapping of three-year Spending Review
21/10/2020 Plans to create a three-year settlement for public spending have been abandoned as latest figures show the havoc coronavirus is wreaking on the public finances. |
Levelling up agenda would add £242bn to economy each year, research finds
05/10/2020 Successfully delivering on the levelling agenda would boost the economy by £242bn a year, new research has argued today. |
Councils key to levelling up agenda, says report
02/10/2020 Local government must have adequate funding to level-up deprived English towns, according to new research. |
Tackling inequality key for post-COVID recovery, say experts
30/09/2020 Safeguarding people's living standards, re-evaluating the role of key workers in society, and reducing inequality are ‘crucial’ for the UK’s economic recovery, researchers say. |
‘Lack of direction’ putting levelling up agenda at risk, warns report
28/09/2020 A lack of strategy from the Government is the greatest barrier to levelling up the country, a new report has warned today. |
New benchmark reveals top five ‘green economies’ in UK
24/09/2020 The top five green economies per capita in 2018/19 were in south east England, Greater Manchester and the Leeds City Region, according to new research. |
Modular housing a 'game-changer' for housing and jobs, experts claim
22/09/2020 Modular housing is a ‘game changer’ and could deliver 75,000 homes a year, a report from experts has claimed. |
Tackle health and economic inequalities at local level, economists say
21/09/2020 A group of leading economists says that the Government’s ‘leveling up’ agenda should focus more on devolution and health and economic inequalities, and not just on big infrastructure projects. |
Launch of £2bn youth employment scheme
02/09/2020 The Government has launched its £2bn scheme to create thousands of jobs for unemployed young people. |
MPs call for evidence to support ‘suburban renaissance’
18/08/2020 The cross-party Suburban Taskforce has today launched a public ‘Call for Evidence’ to help chart a course towards what it describes as a ‘suburban renaissance’ across the country. |
Reinvigorating town centres through a root and branch redesign
12/08/2020 Ciara Keeling outlines how successful local authority town centre regeneration and development strategies should look like post COVID-19. |
Public back investment for ‘15-minute’ communities
07/08/2020 There is a growing trend to create '15-minute communities' through investment in public health, green infrastructure and town centres, a new survey has revealed. |
Major projects must be more responsive to local need, MPs argue
28/07/2020 Hundreds of billions spent on new infrastructure projects could be ‘squandered’ without better co-ordination of local projects, MPs have warned. |
Turn high street shops into new homes, urges report
22/07/2020 The Government should stop trying to slow the ‘inevitable’ decline of the high street and instead embrace new ways of saving urban centres, a new paper has argued. |
Launch of sustainable development guide for councils
17/07/2020 A new guide to help councils engage with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been launched. |
Prospect of local economic recovery 'weak' warn LEPs
15/07/2020 The majority of local leaders warn the prospect of economic recovery is poor over the next six months. |
Ministers urged to create a 'green bank'
03/07/2020 Ministers have been urged to create a Green Bank to fund climate change investment as part of the Government’s multi-billion pound infrastructure investment programme announced earlier this week. |
Councils pledge to deliver inclusive growth post-Covid-19
24/06/2020 Councils are taking steps to ensure their communities and local economies are more inclusive post-Covid-19, a new report has revealed. |
Ten ways for councils to rebuild local economies post-Covid-19
23/06/2020 Alexander Jan sets out ten ideas to help local authorities get started in rebuilding local economies post-Covid-19. |
IFS exposes impact of COVID-19 on different areas
15/06/2020 The balance of protecting public health and returning to economic activity varies from one area to the next, research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found. |
Council planning powers under threat
08/06/2020 Planning powers could be shifted from local authorities to development corporations as part of an economic stimulus package to be announced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson later this month. |
How local economies can recover from a global crisis
29/05/2020 Chelsea Dosad outlines what priorities local areas should focus on to help support economic recovery. |
New £50m fund to help councils open high streets safely
26/05/2020 Councils will have access to a £50m fund to help prepare for the safe reopening of high streets and other retail spaces. |
'Red Wall' areas most at risk of economic scarring, think tank warns
21/05/2020 Red Wall communities areas are most vulnerable to permanent economic scarring as a result of coronavirus, new research has warned today. |
Jenrick launches plans to kickstart housing market
13/05/2020 Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has restarted the housing market as part of the Government’s plans to ease lockdown. |
Put localism at the heart of recovery, say city leaders
11/05/2020 A centralised ‘command and control approach’ to easing lockdown will not work, city leaders have claimed. |
'Too early to tell' if councils need more cash, says Jenrick
07/05/2020 It is ‘too early to tell’ if councils will need more cash to tackle coronavirus, communities secretary Robert Jenrick has said. |
A tipping point for town centres?
16/04/2020 Nigel Wilcock warns that many town centre businesses are now probably terminally damaged – and genuine change will be essential. |
NIC launches future of rail consultation
26/03/2020 The National Infrastructure Commission has launched a consultation on the future rail landscape of the North and the Midlands as part of the Government’s ‘levelling up’ agenda. |
North of Tyne mayor announces nearly £20m funding package to ‘boost’ business
03/03/2020 The mayor of North of Tyne has announced a £19.75m funding package to support business growth and innovation. |
Councils set out joint vision for £100m transport transformation
18/02/2020 Derby City Council and Nottingham City Council have submitted a bid for over £100m funding to enhance transport links between the two cities. |
Freeports ‘will need to justify special status’
10/02/2020 Government plans to open up to 10 'Freeports' in the UK have been met with scepticism, despite claims that they would ‘unlock a new era of jobs and prosperity’. |
West Midlands towns set up board to unlock £3.6bn of funding
31/01/2020 Newcastle-under-Lyme and Kidsgrove are pushing ahead with ambitious plans to unlock millions of pounds of Government investment designed to give towns a boost. |
Council chiefs call for devolution of skills funding
16/01/2020 Six million people in England risk being without a job or in work they are over-qualified for by 2030, council chiefs have warned. |
Former SSI steelworks secures £71m funding boost
10/01/2020 The Government has confirmed an extra £71m will be spent to get the former SSI steelworks in Redcar ready for redevelopment. |
Building a better healthcare cluster
09/01/2020 Outside of the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London, only the North West has been able to develop successful science and technology clusters. Neil Murray reports. |
Pilot areas announced as part of effort to ‘rejuvenate’ high streets
02/01/2020 The Government has announced 14 new pilot areas that will receive tailored expert support to assist in rejuvenating their town centres. |
Liverpool to host ‘first permanent’ city zip line
20/12/2019 Liverpool could be host to the ‘first permanent’ city zip line in the UK, the city council has announced. |
Maximising the benefits of One Public Estate
18/12/2019 Donna Heath says a new approach to construction could help boost the outcomes of the Government’s One Public Estate programme. |
County leaders call for an end to ‘city centric policy obsession’
18/12/2019 Councils have urged the new Government to focus less on cities and to invest more in towns and deprived communities to help level up ‘left-behind’ areas. |
Top 100: Our most popular local government stories of 2019
10/12/2019 From calls to a 10% pay rise for council staff to declaring a climate change emergency, here is our countdown of the 100 most popular stories on LocalGov during 2019. |
Report highlights nine inspirational towns
29/11/2019 A collection of case studies to show how towns can prevent decline and create new opportunities for change has been published. |
Regional inequality in UK is worst than comparable countries, says think tank
27/11/2019 Regional inequalities in the UK are ‘far worse than in any comparable country’, a think tank has warned today. |
Viewing economic development differently
26/11/2019 Sustainability: is it time to view economic development through a different lens? Mark Lynam reports. |
Landscape to deliver growth 'needs simplified'
26/11/2019 The head of the Institute of Economic Development has hit out at England’s ‘dazzling array of bodies and schemes’ to deliver growth that are ‘confusing even to seasoned commentators’. |
Halving regional productivity gap would boost economy by £83bn
26/11/2019 The UK economy could be boosted by £83bn per year if regions with below average productivity could close just half of their shortfall, according to a new report. |
Welsh growth deal worth £240m makes ‘progress’
05/11/2019 The UK and Welsh governments have signed a growth deal with local representatives that could see the creation of 4,000 jobs in the North of Wales. |
This issue of Public Property examines how how flexible workspaces can lead the way in regeneration for local authorities, Why local authority intervention is key to successful urban regeneration schemes and if the Government’s challenge of embracing beauty is an opportunity for communities.
The March issue also takes a closer look at Blackburn with Darwen Council's first digital health hub to help people gain control over health and care services.
