A new government, a new relationship with Europe– and a spanner in the works. If the past few weeks has made one thing clear, it is that it’s time for a fresh start. Here’s how we do it.
We have a new secretary of state for communities, a new minister for housing, and a new minister for the Northern Powerhouse among very many others. Relationships need to be forged, priorities established and pet preferences identified.
The new department for exiting the European Union is, let’s hope, working as hard to establish the future relationship between the UK and EU as it is on negotiations to leave.
But then this week, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said starkly of global growth: “Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works.” So, let’s not wait for the machine to grind to a halt; let’s work to remove the spanner. To do this:
We must get back to business as usual – as quickly as possible. Realistically that means September. It must not mean October. Or, worse, January.
This industry needs to reconnect with the public. There is a likely to be a pause in development over the coming months and a fall in land values. This (hopefully brief) hiatus should not be wasted. How can developers reconnect with communities that feel alienated from changes to the built environment? If it was desirable before, it is vital now.
We don’t need more regulatory reform, but some targeted changes are necessary. Open-ended retail property funds have been in the eye of the Brexit storm and in the past 10 days, Standard Life, Aberdeen Asset Management and Henderson have all put assets up for sale. The Financial Conduct Authority should review rules governing the funds – they aren’t fit for purpose.
We need political continuity. There have, for instance, been too many housing ministers in recent years. Brandon Lewis was one of the longest serving, yet his tenure was just two years and one day.
We need a new spirit of openness – from government, from local authorities, and from developers. Modern, model partnerships should be the order of the day, not the wars of attrition seen in viability assessments of the recent past.
We need to stop fearing change and start thinking the unthinkable. This means embracing technology, rethinking opportunities and being open-minded about new funding models. If the government’s target of 1m new homes during the lifetime of this parliament is to be hit – and assuming it still stands – every option should be considered. Even the green belt. Is the choice between brownfield and greenfield development really as stark as it is made out to be? If the referendum has taught us anything it is about the dangers of boiling a complex argument down to an apparently straightforward binary choice.
We need an ever greater focus on occupiers. The latest Labour Force Survey data showed strong job creation pre-Brexit, with May’s figures highlighting that businesses approached the vote with confidence. However that will slow, notwithstanding Bank of England optimism this week that UK plc has shown resilience post-Brexit. The bank said its national network of agents had reported fewer firms might hire, invest or borrow in the months ahead. But for now most were reviewing, not acting.
We need to think about tenants, too. That labour force data also showed job creation was skewed towards self-employment. That has implications for homes as well as workspace.
We need to invest in infrastructure. But more than that, quicker decisions are needed. Heathrow or Gatwick? HS2 and/or HS3? Clarity, quickly, please.
We need to show the UK is open for business. To do so we need to sell the benefits of overseas investment, trading on sterling’s weakness. That won’t be an easy sell, but it is vital if we are to keep building and deliver the homes, offices, retail, leisure, distribution hubs and infrastructure the country needs.
A new government, a new relationship with Europe – and a spanner in the works. If the past few weeks has made one thing clear, it is that it’s time for a fresh start. Here’s how we do it.
We have a new secretary of state for communities, a new minister for housing, and a new minister for the Northern Powerhouse among very many others. Relationships need to be forged, priorities established and pet preferences identified.
The new department for exiting the European Union is, let’s hope, working as hard to establish the future relationship between the UK and EU as it is on negotiations to leave.
But then this week, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said starkly of global growth: “Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works.” So, let’s not wait for the machine to grind to a halt; let’s work to remove the spanner. To do this:
We must get back to business as usual – as quickly as possible. Realistically that means September. It must not mean October. Or, worse, January.
This industry needs to reconnect with the public. There is a likely to be a pause in development over the coming months and a fall in land values. This (hopefully brief) hiatus should not be wasted. How can developers reconnect with communities that feel alienated from changes to the built environment? If it was desirable before, it is vital now.
We don’t need more regulatory reform, but some targeted changes are necessary. Open-ended retail property funds have been in the eye of the Brexit storm and in the past 10 days, Standard Life, Aberdeen Asset Management and Henderson have all put assets up for sale. The Financial Conduct Authority should review rules governing the funds – they aren’t fit for purpose.
We need political continuity. There have, for instance, been too many housing ministers in recent years. Brandon Lewis was one of the longest serving, yet his tenure was just two years and one day.
We need a new spirit of openness – from government, from local authorities, and from developers. Modern, model partnerships should be the order of the day, not the wars of attrition seen in viability assessments of the recent past.
We need to stop fearing change and start thinking the unthinkable. This means embracing technology, rethinking opportunities and being open-minded about new funding models. If the government’s target of 1m new homes during the lifetime of this parliament is to be hit – and assuming it still stands – every option should be considered. Even the green belt. Is the choice between brownfield and greenfield development really as stark as it is made out to be? If the referendum has taught us anything it is about the dangers of boiling a complex argument down to an apparently straightforward binary choice.
We need an ever greater focus on occupiers. The latest Labour Force Survey data showed strong job creation pre-Brexit, with May’s figures highlighting that businesses approached the vote with confidence. However that will slow, notwithstanding Bank of England optimism this week that UK plc has shown resilience post-Brexit. The bank said its national network of agents had reported fewer firms might hire, invest or borrow in the months ahead. But for now most were reviewing, not acting.
We need to think about tenants, too. That labour force data also showed job creation was skewed towards self-employment. That has implications for homes as well as workspace.
We need to invest in infrastructure. But more than that, quicker decisions are needed. Heathrow or Gatwick? HS2 and/or HS3? Clarity, quickly, please.
We need to show the UK is open for business. To do so we need to sell the benefits of overseas investment, trading on sterling’s weakness. That won’t be an easy sell, but it is vital if we are to keep building and deliver the homes, offices, retail, leisure, distribution hubs and infrastructure the country needs.
• To send feedback, email damian.wild@estatesgazette.com or tweet @DamianWild or @estatesgazette
A new government, a new relationship with Europe – and a spanner in the works. If the past few weeks has made one thing clear, it is that it’s time for a fresh start. Here’s how we do it.
