It is early days for local enterprise partnerships, so for the private sector it is hard to assess how helpful the bodies are likely to be with commercial property transactions. Some of the LEPs, such as fledgling Gloucestershire, appear not to have established direct property links yet, while more established ones like Coventry and Warwickshire are well on the way, with their own property and planning subgroup.
A common response from property players is that, while they talk positively about the regional development agencies now being shut down, they believe that the LEPs should be closer to the ground than their predecessors.
Alistair Shaw, development director of Stanhope, which hopes to start on site next year with its 310,000 sq ft retail-led Old Livestock Market scheme in Hereford, says: “As a developer, our front line connect is with councils. In Hereford we always felt Advantage West Midlands was one removed, although still useful and available.” One of the possible benefits of LEPs is that they will be much more focused, says Shaw: “If there’s little funding available we will need to pull together, so there should be less in-fighting on regeneration projects.”
Andrew Bull, European director at LaSalle Investment Management, agrees. He adds: “LEPs will focus attention on how to best spend limited resources available, on what is achieved and how to measure results. They are also much more inclusive of the business community, which is fantastic.” LaSalle recently bought back land from RDA AWM at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, where it is working with landowner the Royal Agricultural Society of England to develop more than 1,000 acres as a hub for agricultural and rural businesses.
Overall, things look positive
Bull and Shaw also agree that the effectiveness of LEPs will be largely driven by the calibre and longevity of the individuals involved.
Bull says: “We need people who are used to the challenges of dealing with multiple inputs and bureaucracy and talk to us in a language we can understand. In the past, when dealing with RDAs, quite often our dealings with people changed as they moved around. When the environment you are operating in keeps changing, it is very unsettling and makes planning very hard to do.”
Overall, the view from the property sector is positive. In Gloucestershire, home of one of the most recent LEPs, Peter Foyle, partner at agency Bruton Knowles, is pleased with progress so far: “It is starting at the right place and engaging with the right people. Many parts of the county still need redevelopment and the LEP can help facilitate that. There is a lot to do and expectations are high.”
Opportunities from Worcestershire public sector estate cuts
Worcestershire county council, one of the key partners in the county’s local enterprise partnership, is leading the way in rationalising the public sector estate, a process that could bring opportunities for developers and investors. Earlier this year it produced a Capital and Assets Pathfinder report, which suggested that up to £125m of capital receipts and £280m of running cost savings could be achieved by more effective use of buildings.
Crucially, the council has not just mapped and produced an internet database of the properties it owns and occupies itself, but those of all public sector occupiers in the county. What is surprising is that this approach had not previously been taken in such a systematic way anywhere in the UK. “It’s still pretty unique and probably the widest capture of public sector properties in the country,” says Peter Parkes, head of property services at Worcestershire county council. “It’s only in the past 12-18 months that the public sector has started to think of properties in a wider sphere.”
Parkes reckons that 25% of the county’s public sector estate, which totals more than 2,500 individual properties, many of which are owned freehold, could be reduced in just five years. “We are asking: what are our worst performing properties and how can we rationalise them?” he adds. For those occupied directly by the council, the process may be relatively straightforward, but for those owned by other agencies things may be more complicated. While the Probation Service, for example, aims to relinquish all direct property ownership, existing contractual arrangements may make this difficult to achieve.
More than 16m sq ft (nearly 2m sq ft of that in offices) is occupied by the public sector in Worcestershire. How much of this will come on to the market has yet to be calculated. Parkes notes that it is difficult to identify specific surplus buildings or plots of land as negotiations between occupiers are either ongoing or have not yet started, but it is clear that there will be interesting development and investment opportunities.
Office rationalisation is already under way in Kidderminster and Redditch, and also in Stourport, where 24,000 sq ft will become vacant next year when Wyre Valley district council moves to new offices. In Bromsgrove, rationalisation will deliver two key retail-led development sites at both ends of the high street.
A Worcestershire council report suggests that a more effective use of buildings could save £125m in capital receipts and £280m in running costs
Local enterprise partnerships
The Marches
Created: January 2011
Councils involved: Shropshire, Herefordshire, Telford and Wrekin
Chair: Geoffrey Davies OBE, managing director of agricultural machinery manufacturer Alamo Group Europe
Focus: Rather woolly at present. Establishment of an enterprise zone listed as a priority. Business sectors to be targeted include tourism and leisure, advanced manufacturing and agriculture and land-based industries.
Property angles: The LEP has submitted a proposal for an enterprise zone at Rotherwas Business Park. The 150-acre site in Hereford is majority-owned by Herefordshire county council. Some land is available for immediate development, with the remainder available from 2013. In Herefordshire, the LEP is liaising with development agency Hereford Futures.
Worcestershire
Created: December 2010
Councils involved: Worcestershire, Malvern Hills, Bromsgrove, Redditch, Wyre Forest, Wychavon, Worcester
Chair: Peter Pawsey, chairman of Robert West consulting engineers
Focus: A clear agenda. Top of the list is delivering strategic employment sites and associated infrastructure.
Property angles: Peter Pawsey is also a director of Midlands housing group Midland Heart and former chair of Advantage West Midlands’ Rural Regeneration Group. The LEP won £17.8m of regional growth fund cash for Worcester Technology Park and has submitted plans for an EZ at South Kidderminster Business Park. Up to 500 acres could be developed, with around 100 acres available for immediate development. LEP partner Worcestershire council is also leading the way in rationalising the public sector estate (see opposite).
Coventry & Warwickshire
Created: December 2010
Councils involved: Coventry, Warwickshire
Chair: Denys Shortt, CEO of retail products sales, DCS Europe
Focus: A long list of priorities, with planning heading the list, followed by job creation. Low-carbon economy and 2012 Olympics are also key targets.
Property angles: The LEP has set up a Property & Planning Group, headed by Richard Smith, chairman of Midlands developer Opus Land. Its priority is to increase uniformity in planning matters and simplify planning applications across the LEP area.
Gloucestershire
Created: May 2011
Councils involved: Gloucestershire, Cheltenham, Cotswold, Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Stroud, Tewkesbury
Chair: Diane Savory, former chief operating officer of Supergroup
Focus: Still to formally announce priorities, but concentrating on growth industries in the county such as ICT, creative and advanced engineering. Developing links with educational establishments are marked as a priority.
Property angles: None at present.
