In a nutshell: What the election result means for local government
With the Conservative party securing its biggest majority since the 1980s, what does this mean for local government?
Cities of the past, for the future
12/12/2019 Dominic Manfredi discusses why taking learnings from ancient cities could provide the key to promoting wellbeing in the modern built environment. |
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. |
Garden Communities set to deliver over 400,000 homes
09/12/2019 Garden city developments are set to deliver over 400,000 new homes, the equivalent to a city the size of Birmingham, new research has revealed. |
PWLB hike: A rise too far?
09/12/2019 What impact will the increase to the Public Works Loan Board rate have on councils’ housing and other capital schemes? Neil Merrick investigates. |
Sky announces plans for ‘state-of-the-art’ studio in Elstree
04/12/2019 Sky’s plans to build a 32-acre TV and film studio at Elstree could lead to 2000 new jobs for the local economy, the telecommunications company says. |
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. |
Council buys town centre in £43m property deal
25/11/2019 Knowsley Council has completed a £43.8m deal to acquire 87 shops and over 12 acres of land from St Modwen. |
Best practice in resident ballots
06/11/2019 Residents on the South Kilburn Estate overwhelmingly voted in favour of council plans to regenerate their neighbourhood in October 2019. Brent’s strategic director for regeneration and environment Amar Dave shares the lessons learned for other landlords holding resident ballots. |
Whitehall announces £16.4m to ‘boost’ town centres
01/11/2019 Selected local authorities will receive a share of £16.4m to help them access a fund aimed at boosting town centres and improving infrastructure, Whitehall has announced. |
Restoring the glory days of the British seaside
29/10/2019 The traditional seaside resort is having a hard time, new figures on bankruptcies show. But experts say a combination of support and greater freedom could turn them around, as Mark Whitehead found out. |
Seaside towns dominate top 20 bankruptcy list
22/10/2019 British seaside towns dominate a list of the top 20 places for bankruptcies in the UK. |
South Kilburn residents ‘overwhelmingly’ back regeneration
17/10/2019 Residents of South Kilburn Estate in Brent have overwhelmingly backed council plans to rebuild their neighbourhood following the biggest ever resident ballot of its kind in London. |
Stockton’s reinvention of the high street
11/10/2019 A town in the North East with a proud industrial heritage is steaming forward into the 21st century with a bold and highly successful regeneration initiative. |
Public property hubs to be delivered in Birmingham and Peterborough
11/10/2019 Peterborough and Birmingham are the latest places to benefit from a government programme to regenerate city centre sites. |
Cambridge’s pioneering cohousing scheme
07/10/2019 Laura Sharman visits Marmalade Lane – Cambridge’s first cohousing development and the largest scheme of its type in the UK. |
Sussex council green lights 3,000 new homes
07/10/2019 A planning committee in Sussex has given the green light to a construction project that will see thousands of new homes delivered in the area. |
Trafford Council signs £50m property deal
03/10/2019 Trafford Council and Bruntwood Works have exchanged contracts on a £50m joint venture. |
Council buys waterfront land for £1
27/09/2019 Liverpool City Council has bought more than 55,000 sq metres of prime waterfront land for £1. |
£150m housing scheme to go ahead on former Toys R Us site
12/09/2019 Housing and new offices are set to go ahead on a former Toys R Us site in Southampton. |
100 places chosen to develop new town deals
06/09/2019 Towns across England have been invited to develop proposals for new multi-million pound Town Deals. |
£450m flagship regeneration project scrapped
28/08/2019 Southampton City Council has terminated an agreement for a multi-million pound regeneration project. |
Government increases high street fund to £1bn
27/08/2019 The Government has announced 50 more towns will be eligible to bid for a share of funding to revitalise their high street. |
Developer withdraws from multi-million Hove scheme
15/08/2019 Crest Nicholson has withdrawn from plans to deliver a £50m leisure centre and new housing in Hove. |
Whitehall urged to develop £10bn ‘regeneration strategy’
02/08/2019 The Government should develop a £10bn ‘national regeneration strategy’ to help boost towns and cities across the North and Midlands, a new study says. |
Brentwood Council signs £1bn joint venture
02/08/2019 A £1bn joint venture to deliver new homes, public spaces and local facilities has been agreed between Brentwood Borough Council and Morgan Sindall Investments. |
Rethinking the town centre
31/07/2019 Andrea Arnall explains how local authorities can maximise the potential of town centre regeneration and attract investment. |
Vaux: Transforming Sunderland
18/07/2019 The iconic Vaux Brewery site in Sunderland has been transformed into THE BEAM: a mixed use hub in the heart of the city centre. |
£15 fund to make ‘creative’ use of historic buildings launched
02/07/2019 A multi-million pound fund has been launched to help transform high streets through the ‘creative’ use of underused historic buildings. |
The future of town halls
28/06/2019 Jamie Coath explains how councils can unlock the potential of town halls to deliver social value and revenue. |
The winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards
26/06/2019 From the restoration of a historic burial site to a successful and innovative road safety scheme, the winners of the 2019 Street Design Awards have been revealed. |
Urban Green Space Runner-up: Sovereign Square, Leeds City Council and re-form landscape architecture
25/06/2019 The runner-up in the Urban Green Space category is the redevelopment of Sovereign Square in Leeds. |
Urban Green Space Winner: Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden, The terra firma Consultancy and Woking Borough Council
25/06/2019 The regeneration of the Muslim War Cemetery Peace Garden in Woking has been crowned the winner of the Urban Green Space category. |
Children's Play Highly Commended: Golden Lane Estate Playground, City of London Corporation
25/06/2019 The Highly Commended title of the Children's Play category has been awarded to the refurbishment of the Golden Lane Estate in London. |
How councils can transform neglected town centres
25/06/2019 Karle Burford discusses how local authorities can utilise effective placemaking and masterplanning to succesfully regenerate neglected town centres. |
Pedestrian Environment Runner-up: Keel Square, Sunderland City Council
24/06/2019 Sunderland City Council has been chosen as the runner-up in the Pedestrian Environment category for its regeneration of Keel Square. |
Pedestrian Environment Winner: Italian Gardens, North Somerset Council
24/06/2019 North Somerset Council has won the Pedestrian Environment category for its transformation of the Italian Gardens. |
Innovation is the new regeneration
24/06/2019 Rachel Dickie explains how a new joint venture will help cities across the country to create new ‘innovation districts’. |
Council makes ‘radical move’ to buy town centre
24/05/2019 Knowsley Council has made an offer to buy Kirkby town centre in what it describes as a ‘radical move’. |
The second coming
29/03/2019 Paul Brown explains the grand compromise seeking to make Greater Manchester a top global city region. |
Waves of engagement in estate regeneration
28/03/2019 Estate regeneration requires careful and sensitive consideration with close involvement of people living in these areas. Amanda Taylor explains how recent work in Somerset has shown how this approach can deliver better outcomes for everyone. |
Council announces joint venture worth £1bn
22/03/2019 Brentwood Borough Council has announced a new contract with Morgan Sindall Investments to deliver new homes and commercial facilities. |
Review finds lack of due diligence over council's commercial workspace project
21/03/2019 King’s Lynn & West Norfolk BC should ‘build on the lessons learned’ from the construction of a state-of-the-art commercial workspace, the council’s chief executive has said. |
Stevenage BC signs ‘major’ development deal worth £350m
15/03/2019 Stevenage Borough Council and Mace have signed a ‘major new agreement’ to work in partnership on the long-term transformation of Stevenage town centre. |
Five areas chosen for Future Places scheme
13/03/2019 Five areas have been announced to take part in a programme to recognise and support 'high quality placemaking'. |
Opening doors on the High Street
11/03/2019 Can the government's pilot scheme open doors on the High Street? Fiona Sawyer and Frances Edwards report. |
Historical guildhall to undergo first ‘major restoration’ in decades
11/02/2019 York's Guildhall, one of the city’s most historically significant buildings, could be in line for its first major restoration in more than 60 years. |
Glasgow could move council offices to regeneration areas
30/01/2019 Plans to move council offices from the city centre to key regeneration sites are being considered by Glasgow City Council. |
Whitehall announces £1.5m for Midlands digital map
14/01/2019 Local authorities across the Midlands will benefit from a new digital map which will identify the best investment and regeneration opportunities across the area. |
Burnham launches plan to make Greater Manchester an ‘ambitious hub’
07/01/2019 Greater Manchester’s leaders are today announcing ‘radical plans’ to deliver more affordable housing and better transport across the region. |
Launch of the 2019 Street Design Awards
07/12/2018 The Street Design Awards, celebrating innovation and best practice in street design schemes across the UK, have been relaunched by Local Government News magazine. |
Liverpool launches council-owned housing company
05/12/2018 Liverpool City Council has today launched a new housing company which aims to help residents onto the housing ladder through a Rent to Buy scheme. |
Coastal communities awarded £1m to restore historic landmarks
26/11/2018 Over £1m of Government funding has been awarded to 25 projects to restore coastal landmarks and bring economic growth to seaside communities. |
Report calls for 'reset' of Public Private Partnerships
16/11/2018 A strong leadership role from local government is essential for ensuring the success of regeneration schemes involving the public and private sector, a new report has argued. |
Redefining public-private partnerships
09/11/2018 David Mawson explains how an age-old term could conceal a new solution. |
Plans to make empty high street premises ‘community hubs’
07/11/2018 The communities secretary will today announce plans to support the conversion of empty high street premises into homes and community hubs. |
Historic high streets get £40m boost
31/10/2018 Councils will be involved in a £40m project to revive historic high streets, Historic England has announced. |
Plan to revive town centres in the West Midlands launched
26/10/2018 A new plan to unlock ‘funding, expertise and support’ in order to revive high streets across the West Midlands has been launched. |
The future of the high street
16/10/2018 Tiffany Cloynes and Gillian Duckworth explore how councils can support the increasingly fragile high street, finding out why Sheffield City Council has put itself at the forefront of centre shopping development. |
Gloucester CC consults on £50m regeneration scheme
28/09/2018 Gloucester City Council has launched a consultation on a £50m regeneration scheme designed to provide support to the city’s creative industries. |
Government investment to ‘fast track’ 16 coastal projects
17/09/2018 A further round of seaside resorts have been given a share of a fund to help them develop and provide jobs. |
Birmingham loses control of £1bn project as costs double
11/09/2018 Birmingham City Council has been forced to hand over control of its £1bn city centre regeneration, amid spiralling costs and governance criticisms, The MJ can exclusively reveal. |
Plan submitted for 2,500 new homes in York city centre
15/08/2018 York Central Partnership has submitted plans to transform one of the UK's largest city centre brownfield sites, creating 6,500 new jobs and up to 2,500 new homes. |
London council to hold ballot on estate regeneration plans
01/08/2018 Kingston Council in south west London is to ask residents if they agree to plans for regeneration of their estate. |
Haringey to scrap £2bn development
19/07/2018 Haringey councillors have voted to scrap the borough’s controversial £2bn regeneration project despite the threat of legal action from the developer. |
Westminster CC approves 342 new ‘affordable’ houses
12/07/2018 Westminster City Council has given the go ahead for the building of 342 new affordable houses as part of its Ebury Bridge estate development. |
Whitehall announces £67m town deal for Greater Grimsby
06/07/2018 The Government has announced what it describes as a ‘landmark’ town deal for Grimsby in an effort to deliver thousands of new jobs and homes to Lincolnshire. |
Local authorities and retail
19/06/2018 Tiffany Cloynes explores the points councils should consider when bidding for new retail schemes. |
Council buys shopping centre for £14.8m
14/06/2018 Bolton Council has completed the purchase of the Crompton Place shopping centre for £14.8m. |
From ghost town to go-to town
21/05/2018 What can local authorities learn from Altrincham to help regenerate Britain's town centres? Conor Leyden reports. |
Councils urged to bid for latest Coastal Revival Fund
18/05/2018 Councils have been invited to bid for a share of £1m to help restore coastal landmarks that have fallen into disrepair. |
York terminates £9m Interserve contract
10/04/2018 York City Council has terminated a £9m contract with Interserve to redevelop the historic Guildhall after it judged the firm’s cost estimates to be too high. |
A new world of housing delivery
03/04/2018 Fraser Wells explains how a new type of partnership with the private sector is helping councils to share the risk of delivering new housing. |
Government announces £15m in cultural regeneration funds
23/03/2018 The tourism minister today committed to giving Blackpool, Bradford and the Lake District £15m in cultural regeneration funds for the North. |
London council regeneration scheme to create ‘mini-Manhattan’
15/03/2018 Barking and Dagenham Council is seeking to create a ‘mini-Manhattan’ in its area with a regeneration scheme that promises thousands of new homes. |
Oldham launches search for £350m masterplan partner
14/03/2018 Oldham Council is looking for a development partner to help deliver its Town Centre Masterplan. |
Leeds announces plans to ‘double the size’ of the city centre
13/03/2018 Leeds plans to double the size of its city centre with the development of 16,500 new homes, the council tells delegates at a real estate conference. |
Havering selects Wates for £1bn scheme
13/03/2018 Havering LBC has announced construction firm Wates as its joint venture partner in a regeneration project being touted as London’s ‘biggest social housing regeneration’ scheme. |
What does the NPPF mean for our town centres?
07/03/2018 Dr Steven Norris explores how the revised planning rules could help strengthen the government's 'town centre first approach. |
Five recruitment trends in local government
05/03/2018 Jes Ladva argues that local authorities are embracing genuine transformation in recruitment as the austerity freeze continues. |
Coastal communities awarded £40m of funding
27/02/2018 A multi-million pound round of funding designed to transform the UK’s coastal communities is now open for bids, minister announces. |
Welsh Government moves ahead with vacant land tax
13/02/2018 The Welsh Government has decided to move forward with proposals for a vacant land tax to encourage regeneration and tackle the housing crisis. |
Haringey postpones controversial £2bn housing scheme
08/02/2018 Haringey Council has decided to postpone any final decision on their controversial £2bn housing regeneration scheme until after the local elections. |
Residents on London estates will be balloted over regeneration plans
02/02/2018 Residents in London will be balloted on any new regeneration plans affecting their estates, under plans announced by the mayor today. |
Haringey leader to step down amid controversy over regeneration scheme
30/01/2018 Cllr Claire Kober has announced she will be stepping down from her position as the leader of Haringey Council in light of the controversy surrounding the borough’s regeneration plans. |
Lambeth to lend £300m to new housing company
23/01/2018 Lambeth LBC will lend at least £300m to its new housing company over the next five years to kickstart an ambitious plan. |
Shepway District Council agrees to name change
18/01/2018 Councillors have voted to change the name of their district council in order to strengthen the area’s ‘geographical identity’ |
Councils lack PFI management skills, claims report
18/01/2018 Local authorities lack the skills necessary to manage Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contracts and risk not getting the best value for money, new research has warned. |
Government pledges to protect public services following collapse of Carillion
15/01/2018 One of the country’s biggest construction and facilities management companies, Carillion, has gone into liquidation after struggling for the last few months. |
Council proposes name change to strengthen ‘geographical identity’
10/01/2018 A district council is proposing a name change in order to stop people confusing it with ‘a housing estate in Maidstone’. |
Council vows to continue with £80m development
05/01/2018 Rochdale Borough Council has vowed to push on with its £80m town centre development despite a major retailer’s announcement that it intended to pull out of the scheme. |
A seaside success story
04/01/2018 Duncan Johnston explores how Bournemouth Borough Council is using a joint venture to help reinvigorate and change the perception of the town. |
District council set to spend £60m to regenerate city centre
19/12/2017 An Oxfordshire district council has purchased Banbury’s shopping centre and will invest an estimated £60m in delivering the town’s cinema and supermarket. |
Budget 2017: Housing Revenue Account cap lifted for some
22/11/2017 The Housing Revenue Account cap will be lifted for councils in ‘high-demand areas’ and stamp duty will be scrapped for most first-time buyers, chancellor Philip Hammond announced in his Budget speech today. |
Lord Adonis calls for 'ground-breaking' deal for economic growth
17/11/2017 Council leaders have welcomed plans for a major development in the area between Oxford and Cambridge which is estimated could add hundreds of billions of pounds to the national economy. |
Councils warn industrial strategy will fail without devolution
16/11/2017 The Government's industrial strategy risks failing unless a bureaucratic 'maze' of funding sources is streamlined and devolved to local areas, council leaders have warned. |
Croydon approves £1.4bn plans for town centre
15/11/2017 Plans to transform Croydon’s town centre promise to create up to 7,000 new jobs for local people and 1,000 new homes. |
Mayor to review plans for new Bristol arena
10/11/2017 Plans for a new arena in Bristol have been put on hold while the city council carries out a review. |
Tenants affected by regeneration in Haringey guaranteed ‘right of return’
23/10/2017 Residents of council estates earmarked for redevelopment in Haringey will enjoy a guaranteed right of return, council says. |
Corbyn sets out conditions for council regeneration schemes
27/09/2017 Jeremy Corbyn has called on councils to ensure regeneration schemes are for ‘local people’ and ‘not property speculators’. |
Compact living flats could inject over £200m into London, report finds
12/09/2017 Public bodies with unused land should support the private sector in developing compact living accommodation in central London, regeneration specialists say. |
This issue of Local Government News explores what impact the increase to the Public Works Loan Board rate have on councils’ capital schemes and why adopting AI will not just improve customer service response times for councils.
This issue also finds out how local government pension funds are backing infrastructure projects and calls on local government to get better value from its technology spend.
