“Do you like our new legs?” James Buxton asks. He is referring to the Warhol-esque painting that is hung in Bidwells’ boardroom. It is hard to imagine the multicoloured, disembodied women’s legs taking pride of place in Bidwells’ headquarters. Buxton joined 25 years ago, and the picture is just one of the more obvious signs of how the partnership has changed over those years.
His role has been instrumental. Now senior partner, Buxton joined Bidwells – which had run his family’s farm for more than 30 years – straight from the Royal Agricultural College, to work in the rural division. And he has never thought of moving.
Leading the way into planning
In fact, Buxton has always stuck with a project. A self-confessed passionate car collector, he bought his first vehicle, a 1932 Austin 7, when he was 12. He has now owned the car for half its lifetime, and it has been taken to pieces and put back together again at least once. And, in a way, that is what Buxton has done for Bidwells.
Since starting at the firm in 1978, he has set up a planning and development department, established the residential division and initiated the business development plan that has helped to make Bidwells one of the top regional firms. The company has expanded away from its rural roots, with commercial now accounting for 40% of the group’s turnover – a hefty chunk of Bidwells’ £20.5m worth of income.
Buxton is now keen to move the company on again, pushing it further into planning and mixed-use development. And the merger with Northampton-based Drake & Partners last year will help it expand out of its East Anglian roots.
With the company now re-energised, Buxton is turning his talents to a far bigger task: sorting out the region. He was appointed vice-chairman of CBI East of England at the beginning of this year, and will take over as chairman in January next year, for one year.
As well as the usual tasks, such as chairing regional council meetings, sitting in on national meetings, and acting as a spokesperson for the area, he is using his own time to go out and talk to CBI members around the area to gain a better understanding of what keeps them awake at night. Two issues have come back very strongly: regulation and skills.
“The message comes back every time that if you are a successful business in the region then getting qualified staff is exceptionally difficult,” he says.
This is more than just a training issue. It is weaved into wider and much more complicated regional problems, such as the availability and cost of housing, and the provision of infrastructure. This means dealing with these issues will not be easy.
“It is very easy to be a bit cynical about the effectiveness of these groups that lobby government,” says Buxton, “but there is real evidence that the CBI makes a difference.”
The problems are not unique for the East of England, but the area does seem to have more than its fair share of woes. In Cambridge there are 80,000 jobs but only 44,000 people available to fill them, explains Buxton. An example of the consequences of this is Addenbrookes Hospital, which recently had to recruit 200 workers from overseas because it could not find the staff in this county, he says.
Staff need low-cost housing
But recruiting foreign labour is not the answer, believes Buxton. He says that the government is now realising that if businesses in the South East are to grow and prosper, restrictive planning policies will have to be relaxed so that indigenous workers can find low-cost housing.
“With the deputy prime minister’s sustainable communities plan, there has been a major shift in national policy away from forcing people to live and work in areas they may not want to,” says Buxton “The government now accepts that businesses in the South East attract people and they either have to be able to live there or have the means of getting there.”
This is happening slowly, with the release of green belt land around Cambridge. Around 25,000 houses will be built in the Cambridge sub-region over the next 17 years, representing a 40% increase in housebuilding and a threefold increase in affordable housing. Buxton believes there is now an urgency to review the regional and local plans – “but there are two big buts,” he cautions.
“Hertfordshire and Essex have lodged an objection because they believe housing targets are too high,” he says. If the challenges are taken through the courts, it could cause huge delays to building starts.
The other problem is infrastructure. “It is not realistic to believe that if you simply build houses without investing in infrastructure it will succeed,” says Buxton. “We are only tackling part of the problem.” He cites research showing that the Cambridge sub-region requires £2.2bn worth of infrastructure funding, with nearly half that for transport.
A prime example is the A14, which the Highways Agency has labelled the country’s fourth-worst road. Work is under way to improve the road between Cambridge and Huntingdon, but with planning and construction delays, it could take until 2011 to complete the work.
“We are talking six or seven years to provide around 20 miles of road improvements, and that is a small part of the £2.2bn,” says Buxton.
But, despite the problems, there are encouraging signs. English Partnerships, the county and district councils, and East of England Development Agency have formed the catchily titled Vehicle Infrastructure Partnership for the Cambridge Sub-region. Chaired by Sir David Trippier, who Buxton describes as an “exceptional man”, it will get all groups working together.
“They are effective, but I have some concerns that they have no strategic or budgetary powers,” says Buxton. However, the body does have the support of the government agencies, which does have such powers. Infrastructure improvements now seem to be accelerating, he adds.
A further boost to the region are plans to build an extra runway at Stansted airport. The idea was floated in the government’s white paper on transport late last year. Buxton believes the provision of international scheduled flights are very important to the region. “The fact that someone comes in from Denver to visit a technology company in the area and has to fly from Heathrow is a major drawback,” he says.
International flights
However, he has concerns that the vast majority of growth at Stansted will come from budget airlines. “These do stimulate the economy and pump huge amounts of money into the East of England, but the effect will be quite localised.” It will also do little to enhance the region’s attractiveness to business. “International flights to the US and Far East are really important to the East of England,” he emphasises, but adds: “I don’t think the large airlines at Heathrow are that enthusiastic about Stansted.”
The proposed expansion at Stansted is still in its early days, with the long process of public consultation, planning and environmental debates ahead. But Buxton does not think the region will have another T5 on its hands. “If the final decision takes three years, I would not be surprised,” he says. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it took five years, but I think the government recognises the importance of Stansted.”
No doubt Buxton has done his homework. But recognising the problems is one thing, dealing with them is quite another. For the next year, all eyes will be on whether Buxton can weave his magic with the region.
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2004 Appointed vice-chairman of CBI East of England council with a view to becoming chairman in January 2005 Member of the UK advisory council to WWF |
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2000 Appointed senior partner |
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1994 Appointed managing partner, initiated redevelopment of business |
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1988 Appointed equity partner and established residential agency |
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1984 Established the firm’s planning and development department |
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1978 Joined Bidwells |
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1975 Diploma in rural estate management at Royal Agricultural College, winner of the Scammell award for excellence in report writing |
