Collaborating for growth - Hertfordshire doing things differently

Collaborating for growth - Hertfordshire doing things differently 16/07/2020

With: Cllr David Williams, Chair, Hertfordshire Growth Board and Leader, Hertfordshire County Council

Rob Bridge, CEO, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council and l​ ead Chief Executive, Hertfordshire Growth Board​;

Patsy Dell, Director, Hertfordshire Growth, Hertfordshire Growth Board

Matt Partridge, CEO, Stevenage Borough Council

David Rowsell, Area Director - Northern home counties, Morgan Sindall

SUMMARY

Hertfordshire Growth Board brings together Hertfordshire County Council, 10 district and borough councils, and Hertfordshire LEP. Together they have signed a ​Memorandum of Understanding signalling their commitment to collaborative working​.

As Chair of Hertfordshire Growth Board Cllr Williams set the scene, painting a vivid picture of Hertfordshire’s vitality and economic importance for the UK: “Before COVID, we were reporting a 14.7 billion gross value added economy.”

The county is expecting to see a population rise of approximately 175,000 by 2031, and thus over the next 15 years Hertfordshire will need to deliver at least 100,000 new homes and create something in the order of 100,000 new jobs. It was within the scale of this challenge that Hertfordshire found the impetus for the creation of the Growth Board.

Cllr Williams: “The Growth Board enables us to take a more holistic view of managing growth across the county rather than decisions based on local planning authority boundaries. Hertfordshire’s economy, he added, is “as big if not bigger” than the economies of some of the city regions. By speaking with ‘one voice’ to Government and building on a strong track record of partnership working, the Growth Board can ensure Hertfordshire’s contribution to the UK economy is fully recognised.

“The Government has made it very clear that economic growth has a key part to play in levelling up and dealing with recovery.

We want to be playing our part in that.” – Cllr David Williams

Rob Bridge likewise emphasized the conformity of vision shared by those partners working under the banner of the Growth Board. “What’s impressed me and my colleagues is the maturity of conversation between leaders regardless of what political parties they are.” Bridge also spoke to the scope that can be achieved on issues such as housing, infrastructure and climate through greater collaboration - as well as mounting the recovery effort against Covid. “Working together on a recovery growth deal is about making sure Hertfordshire doesn’t leave certain parts of it behind 2

and making sure that we’re all working for the benefit of all.” Patsy Dell accorded with Bridge’s sentiment about the capacity with which Hertfordshire can work through the collaborative vehicle of the HGB. “The sum of the parts of our endeavours is greater than what we could achieve on our own.”

“There is a much stronger voice if it is the eleven plus the LEP coming to Government and saying, look, let's ensure Hertfordshire is the place that our communities and businesses want to thrive in, live in, and get opportunity in.” – Rob Bridge

Matt Partridge outlined some of the actions that the HGB has already taken. “With regards to encouraging dialogue. At a high level, we’ve done a lot of work on developing a common strategy for the growth board. We have developed some really clear, exciting looking branding…

We’ve worked very hard on developing a microsite, which will provide greater opportunities for residents and businesses to read about what the Board is doing and the decisions it’s taking as well going forward.”

“The key aim of Hertfordshire Growth Board is to ensure that the county, its residents and its businesses benefit from good, well planned and sustainable place based growth.” – Matt Partridge

Morgan Sindall Construction has a prominent base in Welwyn Garden City, and is one of the businesses that stand to benefit from well-planned growth. To deliver the necessary homes, public buildings and infrastructure to support the county’s expected population growth, David Rowsell called for “a strategic collaborative approach between the public and private sector.” This joint venture model can create an “effective partnership which enables large scale strategic development and enables us to look at the bigger picture.” Construction will be of great importance for Hertfordshire in realizing its growth ambitions - not only will it be needed to deliver homes and infrastructure, but it will also have a role to play in creating jobs.

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“What's really important from our perspective as a national contractor with a regional focus is that we help to develop and support such powerful initiatives as the Hertfordshire Growth Board, and continue to support public and private partnerships.” – David Rowsell

Asked where the Growth Board hopes to be in 12 months’ time, Cllr Williams said he was confident that it will have secured a deal for Hertfordshire: “Don’t overlook the really strong economies in the South East which are a real powerhouse for the country.” Bridge pointed to the importance of the Oxford/Cambridge arcs running across Hertfordshire’s northern boundary. Hertfordshire’s greatest strength, according to the snap polls conducted during the webinar, is its location, and a key part of the Growth Board’s role will be to capitalise on this advantage while addressing the pressures of growth.

“We’re never going to get away from being an area of growth pressure that we will need to deal with, and that will certainly continue post 2030… That’s why I think the collaborative way of working with the Growth Board and taking that longer term perspective is absolutely spot on to try and deal with those challenges.” – Patsy Dell

All in all, the years ahead for Hertfordshire look to be incredibly exciting. Listening to the speakers gathered for this session, the coalescence of the Growth Board strikes one as perhaps a natural manifestation of their zeal and intent for the county. How far is Hertfordshire prepared to go to do things differently, to build on its pioneering heritage to shape a future of opportunity? Let’s watch this space.

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Q&A Questions from the live audience, answered post-session by Cllr Williams.

Do the panel feel there has been enough cooperation and dialogue beyond public sector collaboration to include meaningful and transparent collaboration with the private sector landowners/developers?

Lloyd McInally, development manager, Tarmac

Engagement with local developers is important. I do meet frequently with land owners, developers and their advisors, participate in events and roundtables. As it matures, we will consider how the Growth Board can also be involved in such engagement.

Do you see Watford as a fit with Hertfordshire going forward or London?

Anonymous

Watford is an integral part of Hertfordshire, not least because of the way it works with and relates to Croxley Green, Bushey, Leavesden, Rickmansworth and Hemel. Not just economically, but also in terms of schools, further education and health through the West Herts Hospital Trust.

If two-tier works so well, why change it?

Cllr Paul Seeby, deputy mayor, Borough of Broxbourne Council

We make it work in Hertfordshire but fundamentally, local government reform is seen by the Government as a key part of its devolution agenda and COVID recovery. Let’s see what the Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper has to say in September.

Has the time come for unitary authority/ies for Herts and is the parochial nature of district councils an inhibitor?

Cllr Richard Curthoys, St. Albans City and District Council

It’s my judgement that we are witnessing the end of two tier local government. Publication of the Devolution and Local Recovery White Paper on 7​th​ September will set out Government’s wish to see more unitary councils.

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How much pressure is MHCLG likely to exert on local govt reorganisation as the price for a good deal?

Cllr Malcolm Cowan, Welwyn Hatfield Borough Council

Minister Simon Clarke has already set out his expectation that the sort of devolution of powers expected in a growth deal are dependent on reform i.e. the adoption of unitary local government.

I hope collaboration going forward means that all of the 10 councils don’t look to 'dump' their housing allocations on their borders and that St. Albans are fully engaged.

Anonymous

The post 2012 Local Planning process has been hugely challenging for the county’s Local Planning Authorities and difficulties have been exacerbated by the need to respect the Green Belt. It’s especially challenging for “tightly bounded” LPAs such as Watford, Stevenage and Welwyn Hatfield. Removing arbitrary boundaries should result in better decisions while we also must recognise the greater focus we need to have on residential densification and the contribution it can make to town centre regeneration.

If the Growth Board was to describe Hertfordshire to a non-local, international business audience and to differentiate it from all other counties for inward investment opportunities, what is that message/USP? Mary Sykes, external affairs director, Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce

Mary, I can’t improve on the LEP’s ‘​Perfectly Placed for Business​’ which reflects how well connected we are, our skills base and what a great place Hertfordshire is to live and work.

I’m wondering if panel members agree with my view that the makeup and industries of our jobs are going to change substantially over the next couple of years. The decline in our high streets is going to accelerate this process. We will need to adapt to these changes with supporting working from home and small serviced office space. We will also need to improve our health and leisure offering, so that residents that are no longer commuting have the access and draw to our great outdoor spaces.

Cllr Andrew Huggins, East Herts District Council

Absolutely. We can reflect on how the Herts economy evolved following the decline in the defence industries (although Airbus and MDBA in Stevenage are two great legacies) and our experience of town centre 6

regeneration in Hemel, Stevenage, Hatfield and Bishop’s Stortford will need to be applied elsewhere. Today, I’m very glad not to be commuting to a 30​th​ floor office in Canary Wharf. This is a real opportunity for us now but we need to be acutely aware of the accommodation needs of our key sectors going forward. For example life sciences and film and media will have very different accommodation needs and requirements in terms of collaboration etc. Herts is not immune from deprivation, poor health outcomes and poor educational attainment. Population health and wellbeing and inclusive growth are key challenges for us.

How do you use local data to ensure you meet local need in a very diverse county?

Cllr Linda Russell, Borough of Broxbourne Council

As I mentioned on the webinar, the governance for our major development initiatives such as Stevenage regeneration, Hatfield 2030, Harlow Gilston Garden Town and Hemel Garden Communities are locally based, discrete from local authorities with significant private sector input.

With an announcement today of a 650,000 increase in unemployment with 45,000 in the 16 - 24 age range (expected to rise dramatically in October) creating new job opportunities is fundamental, but may conflict with increasing automation in many industries. What are the job opportunities that might help stem the tide of rising unemployment and a disenfranchised lost generation of new graduates?

Mark Bretton, chair, Herts LEP

Our key sectors and key employers will remain fundamental to the county’s prosperity as evidenced by Comcast/Sky’s £3bn investment in Borehamwood. Hospitality and the visitor economy will bounce back but as evidenced by the closure of John Lewis in Watford, high street retail will contract. Our growth will see significant opportunities in construction where we aim to be a leader in modern methods of construction.

Does the panel believe an Herts Infrastructure Corporation could be on the agenda? And is there a collective appetite for CPO land to help deliver infrastructure, growth and new homes?

Danny Kaye, managing director, Sheridan Development Management

Infrastructure is fundamental to good growth and it’s one of the key reasons for the Growth Board and the devolution of powers we are

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seeking. The extent of the challenge was set out in our I​ nfrastructure Prospectus​.

What role will Luton Airport play in future development in Hertfordshire? Is an expanded airport a benefit or an environmental issue?

Cllr John Hale, Hertfordshire County Council

It’s been a joy to have quiet skies but as we know, Herts residents are amongst its biggest users, appreciating its convenience. Remains to be seen whether the model based on easyJet and Whizz Air holds up, can’t imagine that T2 comes forward as quickly as planned which may help us with airspace redesign and fleet modernisation to mitigate the noise and the disturbance experienced by many Herts residents.

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POLLS AND INSIGHT Polls taken from the live audience.

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