The new metro mayors are driving a “sea change” in how local authorities deal with developers and the wider real estate industry, according to Landsec chief executive Rob Noel.
Speaking after a MIPIM UK forum at 10 Downing Street on Friday, Noel said: “What we have seen today is great ambition from a number of local authorities who have worked out they have got a mandate to change their cities. It is encouraging to see. It has not always been that way in the past.”
The forum saw three regional authorities make the case for inward investment into their city regions. Belfast pitched investment opportunities around the city’s Titanic Quarter and Weaver’s Cross. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough called for investment into a dual carriageway bridge near Huntingdon which could cost £136m and unlock the development of 12,000 homes. Greater Manchester showcased Trinity Island, where a PRS partner is being sought, Trafford Waters, a £1bn scheme to create up to 3,000 homes, and Bolton town centre’s £1bn masterplan.
Dozens of domestic and international investors and advisers were present, including Hammerson, L&G, TH Real Estate, China’s Wanda Group, JLL and Eastdil Secured. Opening the session, exchequer secretary to the Treasury Andrew Jones said the government wanted investors to help to open up regional investment markets – especially in housing where he acknowledged the government needed to do more. “We have a poor record and we want to correct it and correct it fast,” he said.
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