Issue 16 // Summer Edition
Professor Michael Parkinson Sir Howard Bernstein Rachel McQueen Tom Riordan & more
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Design: Jack Hunter Contributions: Frank McKenna Professor Michael Parkinson CBE Sir Howard Bernstein Jim O’Neil Tom Riordan Rachel McQueen Simon Danczuk Stephen Young
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A message from the CEO...
After Covid-19: Is Liverpool Still Beyond or Back on the Brink?’
How to save British business
An inclusive future for all
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There is no ‘T’ in DCMS
What Next? Roundtable Discussion
Lessons from SOHO
City Leaders Outline Recovery Hopes in Downtown Den
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Cllr Sharon Thompson in the Downtown Den
The North is part of the Solution says LEP Chair
The Impact of COVID19
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Reports of the Death of Cities is Greatly Exaggerated Words by:
Frank McKenna Chief Executive & Group Chairman of Downtown In Business
There is a growing opinion that the lockdown we have experienced in the UK will lead to long-term changes in people’s behaviours. In turn, we will see our great cities struggle to return as the natural drivers of economic growth that they were prior to COVID-19. Working from home, a realisation that there are better things to do with your life than spend three hours a day on a painful commute 4
and a continued underlying fear of the virus will, say some commentators, result in a sharp fall in the demand for office space, hospitality venues and city centre apartments.
in favour of characterless out-of-town industrial parks, retail outlets and new town developments.
For the sake of our economic health, we must hope that such predictions are wrong. The good news is, they most probably are.
The economic and human impact of that move away from cities was devastating. Communities were decimated, thousands of individuals felt alienated and unemployment rocketed to over 3 million.
In the Seventies and Eighties, our cities were abandoned
Growing up in the new town of Skelmersdale, I have
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“The eradication of Coronavirus or a magic bullet vaccine may be years away. It is a new disease that we will have to learn to live with. But live we must.” first- hand experience of the negative consequences of shifting 40,000 folks out of a city location with the promise of a brave new world. The new town dream quickly became a nightmare for many who bought into it. Those who selected Runcorn or Kirkby fared no better and there are examples of this flawed experiment further south too. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past by seeing cities as a problem rather than a solution during this latest challenge – and as our human instincts kick-in I am more than confident that, in fact, cities will be the leading forces of our return to economic recovery in 2021. As the leading Lancashire entrepreneur Tony Attard told me in an interview recently “people revert to type”. He is right. Which is why, once business leaders and politicians start to demonstrate a more confident, robust approach to encouraging people back to our city centres, they will become the bustling, creative, growth hubs that they need to be. If that doesn’t happen, the
economy will take a much longer time to recover. For it is only when people start to return to cities that our transport networks, hotels, restaurants, pubs, coffee shops and clothing retailers can begin to thrive once more. The corporate community should be leading that return by getting their workforces back into the office as soon as they can. Not only is working from home less productive and, indeed, soul destroying for some – but it stops the creative processes, the collaborative and the deal-making environment that occurs when people are working alongside each other, able to share thoughts and ideas. It has been disappointing to see some big corporate entities, usually headquartered in London, instructing their staff to work from home until the New Year. Equally, some, not all, local authorities have been too slow in encouraging their teams back into the office. This lack of leadership will come back to bite us all in the not-toodistant-future. For all the health concerns around COVID-19, there must now
be a more balanced and nuanced debate about the implications of this half-life existence we are having to endure. Cancelled cancer operations, mental health challenges, poverty and mass unemployment will have consequences. Poverty has been the biggest and most consistent killer for generations, both nationally and globally. We cannot and must not allow ‘lockdown’ to become anything more than it was intended. A temporary measure to get a virus under control. The eradication of Coronavirus or a magic bullet vaccine may be years away. It is a new disease that we will have to learn to live with. But live we must. For business, cities provide high productivity, a sense of community, a buzz, centres of excellence and knowledge, networks, culture, and more besides. Given the huge challenges we now face in getting the UK back on its economic feet, the sooner cities are fully operational again, the better for all of us. 5
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Words by:
Professor Michael Parkinson CBE Associate Pro Vice Chancellor for civic engagement at the University of Liverpool and Ambassador for the Heseltine Institute for Public Policy and Practice
After Covid-19: Is Liverpool Still Beyond or Back on the Brink?’ I published ‘Liverpool Beyond the Brink’ exactly a year ago telling the story of Liverpool’s extraordinary recent renaissance and painting an optimistic portrait of its future. However, the scale of the COVID-19 crisis challenged that optimism in some peoples’ minds. Should it have? My new study ‘After Covid-19: Is Liverpool Still Beyond or Back on the Brink?’ gives some answers.
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“The city now needs an Economic Recovery and Renewal Plan with a strategic, ambitious narrative which is authentic and based on Liverpool’s past experience and current realities and captures some of the benefits of lockdown.” Challenged - but we are not back on the brink. The position is very difficult economically and socially. But Liverpool is not back on the brink of disaster as in the 1980s. Its economy is more diverse, its people more resilient and its leadership stronger. Many partners have responded well to the crisis and its leaders have been bold and decisive. However, the city has paid a higher price than other UK large cities both in health and economic terms, especially its poorer and BAME communities. Also, many sectors which drove Liverpool’s renaissance – the visitor economy and city centre retail, residential and office development – have been and will remain very badly hit. But some of its ‘harder’ assets in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool, like the health, green and digital sectors could emerge even stronger as global leaders. The next phase after lockdown but before a vaccine is found - will be very difficult to manage economically, physically, psychologically. The city must be prepared for a long haul of at least 2 years sadly with
casualties along the way. But there is hope, especially if the city continues with the right policies locally and gets Government support.
Some new problems – but others are familiar. Some of Liverpool’s challenges like social distancing are brand new. But many like - poverty and inequality; tensions between a public health system and a fragmented, privatised care ‘system’; a too powerful central and too weak and poor local government already existed and have just been exaggerated by the crisis. They must be top of the national and local policy agendas in future.
Government should invest in Liverpool for a national recovery. After the crisis there will be a groundswell of opinion for Government to give the greatest support to those who paid the price and did the dirty work in this war – the NHS, the care sector, the key workers, the low paid. Liverpool can make a large contribution to this health,
social equity and welfare agenda. Also given the state of the national economy and finances, Government will focus on economically competitive, innovative sectors. Again, Liverpool has huge potential as well as the commitment, momentum and capacity to deliver in those sectors. The city now needs an Economic Recovery and Renewal Plan with a strategic, ambitious narrative which is authentic and based on Liverpool’s past experience and current realities and captures some of the benefits of lockdown. It should build on the city’s known strengths, address its known weaknesses and seize any new opportunities which emerged during the COVID-19 lockdown. And it should do this across three big themes – productivity, place and people. It must be right for the city of Liverpool but align with wider Liverpool City Region ambitions. It must have public, private and community partners involved and onside. It should work for Government and help it to deliver national recovery as 7
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well as its levelling-up agenda. To do this the plan should address the social equity as well the economic competitiveness and innovative policy agendas, since extensive deprivation is one of the reasons the pandemic has hit the city so hard. It must be a mix of capital and social programmes. It should be well-evidenced, well-costed and deliverable. It must persuade Government to invest in Liverpool so it can: sustain its renaissance; avoid the risk of social disorders created by inevitable heavy youth unemployment; remain a progressive, global city helping the country’s recovery and renewal.
Make No Little Plans! The scale of the emergency response to the crisis in Liverpool has demonstrated the extent of change that can be achieved in a short time on even intractable issues with an active public response, political commitment and community mobilisation. It is crucial after the health, economic, social and psychological costs the crisis has imposed that such a spirit inspires any recovery plan. We are not going back to an old normal.
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It will be as much about reimagining and renewal as recovery. Any plan must be up to the scale of that challenge. My book about the extraordinary remaking of Liverpool city centre in the 2000s was entitled Make No Little Plans following the words of the architect of Chicago, Daniel Burnham. He wrote: “they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realised.” I agree with him. Liverpool leaders made no little plans in prosperity. Nor should they in adversity. Liverpool should now make big plans! We are remaking the city. And it must be right for the future. The city must hold its nerve, develop mature relationships with higher quality developers and funders and use its land strategically for key projects - not do development at any cost. And leadership will matter. Just as they have in the crisis, the city’s leaders should be good partners but bold and decisive. I am very pleased that they now have been and have developed a really ambitious recovery plan. We now need a serious conversation between Liverpool’s leaders and Government so we can deliver it.
DIB’s 30-step guide to recovery
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This article first appeared on thearticle.com. View the original here: www.thearticle.com/ how-to-save-british-business
How to save British business The Covid-19 crisis has brought into sharp focus the essential requirement to protect the national business base. Words by:
Sir Howard Bernstein & Jim O’Neil
We have seen governments and countries acting to protect employees and labour markets through furloughing. Governments have offered grants (often small) to businesses, particularly in sectors that are vulnerable to the restrictions caused by lockdown and introduced various types of centrallyunderwritten loan schemes to support businesses through the crisis. The central proposition is that these platforms, 10
however justified as an immediate response to the crisis, are unlikely to provide the answer to business requirements in the medium term. Unless normality as we knew it several weeks ago returns anytime soon, it is clear that the challenge for businesses will become terminal. Too many businesses will fail, unemployment will increase — possibly to unprecedented levels — and the capacity for national recovery will be eroded. This could have a potentially
catastrophic impact on the social and economic fabric of the country. One significant weakness in these arrangements is that loans to offset shortfalls in cashflow achieve little over a period of months other than increasing debt, which will intensify and accelerate shortfalls in future cash flows. This will intensify a pattern of business failures over time. Another weakness is that, because of the present
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crisis, a loan-based system will not incentivise changes in business models. This is needed, if businesses are to respond to the many challenges of globalisation that they already face. Simply trying to sustain what exists already will not promote the necessary changes in digitalisation, research and innovation, or in employment and training It will also slow the transition to a zero carbon economy which a renewed and progressive national business base must pursue in order to enhance national competitiveness. There needs to be a new national plan to respond to these challenges, not only to secure new employment opportunities for people who will be forced out of the labour market, but also to equip existing and new businesses with access to the necessary resources to support the transition. One part of the solution could be the creation of a new platform, almost certainly national in nature, but administered regionally, to support the recapitalisation of businesses and to promote new business development. This is not and should not be seen as a “Bailout Fund”. Many companies that will fail as a result of this crisis were weak before the crisis.
However, the scale and nature of the impact of the crisis will have significant consequences for inherently sound businesses, many of which are crucial to Britain’s long-term economic recovery. The fund we have in mind will need to distinguish between the “good”, the “not so good” and “the bad”. We also want to promote start-up rates. Experience from previous downturns shows that this tends to accelerate business development. Investment can be securitised, predominantly through preference shares in a business, which would be linked to future financial performance and profits. Shares can be bought back by businesses at any time over, say, a 10-year period. (This would be in accordance with a pre-determined formula.) An initial investment capability of the order of £25bn is considered necessary to create the platform with sufficient scale to make a difference. This funding platform would be wholly owned by the public sector, but would be led by the private sector with the necessary freedom to act and to take decisions on where funding should be deployed. The Fund’s criteria and standards would be laid down by the public sector.
The Fund should be open to all businesses (large and small) who meet defined eligibility criteria. Having these standards in place would help to create the essential transparency about national priorities and the clearest basis on which businesses can decide whether or not to participate. These standards could include need; market prospects and viability; governance; and opportunities for equipping the business in question to support a range of national challenges around employment and training; research; employment practices, and a business’s contribution to meeting national targets around zero carbon. We also need to recognise that societal priorities around the value of front-line workers has changed and this needs to be reflected as appropriate in the standards too. Investment agreements would be entered into with businesses that embraced these aims. They would be the subject of regular monitoring, almost certainly through an annual reporting mechanism or at more regular intervals, depending upon the performance of the business. These agreements can be standardised to avoid unnecessarily complex and 11
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protracted processes. These would include the essential safeguards to protect the integrity of the public investment — such as further significant loans without consent — as well as providing performance indicators against which actual performance would be measured. A strong monitoring base would be required, including the ability to scrutinise performance. An enforcement regime would also need to be defined involving where necessary the right to withdraw the funding in the event of persistent non-performance. There are precedents for this type of strategic investment approach. In 1945 the Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC) was established by the Bank of England and the major British Banks to provide long term investment funding for small and medium-sized businesses. This was in response to the need to create a new and diversified business base beyond WW2. The ICFC subsequently extended the breadth of its investment base by raising external funds and it became the single largest provider of growth capital for unquoted 12
Birmingham
companies in the country. In the late 1980’s the Banks sold off their stake to form a public limited company called 3i Group, which over the next 10 years was publicly floated. In 2008 following the banking crisis, the Government, through a variety of financial instruments (costing around £500bn), underwrote eligible lending and re-capitalisation plans in return for a combination of ordinary and preference shares in affected banks. In return for this support restrictions were negotiated on wider matters, including executive pay and shareholder dividends. The key lesson from this experience is that unlike other country’s responses, the Government addressed both near term solvency and cash flow, and crucially medium-term re-capitalisation. A similar approach is required now. In the absence of a strategy for re-capitalisation too many businesses will fail. And the task of recovery will become even harder and longer.
Birmingham
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“Having something in place even in shadow form to support the development of investment standards and criteria would be particularly helpful.�
It is inevitable that some investments will fail. But informed and independent decisionmaking combined with robust evaluation and risk management capabilities will be the key to keeping these to a minimum and maximising success. There are existing public sector led platforms to build from, such as the BIB, but serious consideration should be given to creating a new publicly-funded platform with strong governance and private sector leadership skills and an executive team. There is no reason why this cannot be assembled quickly given the range of expertise already prevalent in the commercial and investment sector in the UK.
forward successfully. But every part of Britain has an important role to play in maximising the prospects of success. It would be crucial to direct local businesses towards the scheme; supporting their applications and business plans to relate them to national and local priorities and joining up these proposals with local assets around research and development, employment and training, collaboration with academia and supply chains. Local agencies could also play a crucial role in monitoring the performance of businesses and their compliance or otherwise with investment agreements.
A national platform would have to work hand in hand with local democratic structures, and also with wider policies about levellingup and creating a wide range of national businesses. Because to recover from the effects of Covid-19, that is what Britain will There must be a national platform given the scale of investment which is required and the need. skills and leadership needed to successfully implement the priorities. Not every region in the UK has the skill and capacity to take this Having something in place even in shadow form to support the development of investment standards and criteria would be particularly helpful.
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An inclusive future for all Words by:
Tom Riordan Chief Executive of Leeds City Council
2020 has been the year we have all had to face an unprecedented global pandemic, affecting all parts of our lives, including people of all ages and backgrounds. Coronavirus has taken a considerable toll on the economy, and presented an unprecedented challenge to local government. As we emerge from this crisis, our recovery will be shaped by our priorities of delivering inclusive growth, improving health and wellbeing, and working towards becoming a carbon net zero city. Unfortunately, it is clear that coronavirus has exacerbated the inequalities in our society, and as we 14
rebuild our economy, it is more important than ever to ensure that we focus on improving the lives of our most disadvantaged. We are building our recovery approach to ensure that we can mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on those most at risk of being economically excluded, so that Leeds continues to be a city where both people and business thrive together and everyone can benefit from the local economy and reach their full potential. Our Inclusive Growth Strategy recognises that all sectors have a role to play. Some sectors may not always deliver high levels of growth, but with a strong economy as a foundation,
we can help protect jobs and incomes through uncertain times such as these. Stakeholder relationships are key, which has been demonstrated more than ever throughout this crisis. One way to help support this strategy will be the devolution of skills, with £63 million per year for Leeds from the adult education budget, helping to tackle mass unemployment and allowing people to gain much needed skills for the local labour market. The OECD has estimated that the UK’s economy may shrink by 14% in 2020 if there is a second outbreak. From a
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local government perspective, the sector has had to continue to make savings throughout the last decade, while continuing to deliver vital services. Estimates on the shortfall local government will experience as a result of the pandemic range from £6-10 billion, so the need to ensure the government provides immediate funding into local government as well as providing financial flexibility and sustainability is essential going forward.
Covid-19 has affected the way we work, travel and socialise. The crisis is accelerating existing trends and we are seeing growth in new ways of working and emerging sectors. One area Leeds can capitalise on is green jobs, the LGA forecast Leeds will be among the strongest cities in the UK in creating jobs to support these industries and we are committed to becoming a net zero city within 10 years as we work towards lowering carbon emissions. We can meet Leeds collectively contributes £26.2 billion this challenge, in part through growing our to the UK economy, with the local economy new innovative businesses, and for the past growing by 28% over the last ten years. We two years Leeds has been working with the have had some real success stories, and later Massachusetts Institute of Technology in this year will officially welcome Channel 4 to Boston to learn how to better nurture local Leeds when they open their new National entrepreneurs and provide easier access UK Headquarters, and we know that our to funding. This autumn we are launching a young, diverse and dynamic population new support programme to help individuals attracted them to start the next stage of facing a change in circumstance, inspiring their journey here with us. The arts and them to make the leap to entrepreneurships. culture sector has been particularly badly hit Local planning, response and leadership and we are more determined than ever to has been at the centre of this crisis. While support these businesses and have renewed there will be far reaching effects, councils our commitment to delivering a yearlong have risen to the challenge; continuing to festival in 2023. We welcome businesses provide essential services, responding to the across all sectors to be part of our story and virus and supporting our most vulnerable to work with us to build a better, stronger residents. and innovative economy, delivering the best results for the Leeds City Region. As we move into the next phase, our community, city and regional partnerships However, research on the impact of are essential – working together to achieve COVID-19 has shown the pattern of the virus one aim: to improve local areas and exacerbates the health inequalities we know communities. Devolution plays a big part of already exist, and it’s clear the gap between this, re-directing decision making back to a deprived and affluent areas is increasing. local level to empower communities. Our greatest strength and our most important asset is our people, and during But the biggest partnership we need to this pandemic, we have been reminded more harness is the civic spirit of neighbourhoods starkly than ever how much we value our coming together to support each other, the communities and a world class, integrated thousands of volunteers who have come health and care system. Leeds has a strong forward to help others and claps celebrating vision to be the best city for health and the heroic work of our key workers. By wellbeing and to improve the health of the working together we can, and will, build an poorest the fastest. Healthy residents and inclusive future for all. building a stronger economy should always go hand-in-hand. 15
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There is no ‘T’ in DCMS The Covid-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on a whole range of sectors and communities, but arguably none more so than those involved in tourism and hospitality.
They sell experiences that are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike, and that make the Lancashire quality of life what it is.
beach. And yet the sector is so often under-valued and over-looked by Government. Lancashire is fortunate in many ways, in both the amazing product that we have, and in the value that our local government and the LEP place on it. However, the sector is in a precarious situation, and we need to fight for its survival.
They are our true ‘soft power’. The quirks of a country pub, the thrills of a seaside theme park, the nostalgia of a ballroom, the exceptional quality of a Michelin starred meal, the joy of fish and chips on the
Due to the seasonal nature of the industry, many businesses expect to recoup loses during the summer months and build up reserves to see them through the following winter. We have lost half of the
This is an industry that is not afraid to evolve and innovate, but unlike retail or professional services, they cannot simply switch their provision online.
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Words by:
Rachel McQueen Chief Executive of Marketing Lancashire
season already, and despite initial claims that there would be a domestic tourism boom once the country was out of lock-down, consumer sentiment research is actually predicting a net loss of domestic tourism activity. And with the events and festivals that would have attracted visitors cancelled, and no clarity on if and when mass gatherings might be able to start again - affecting the wedding industry and business tourism as well as the cultural sector - it looks as though the industry is essentially facing three back-to-back winters. For Lancashire, we estimate this
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“What we need is an increased sense of urgency and speed of decision making at the national level and a greater use of local knowledge and intelligence in national plans for restart and recovery.” could be an economic loss of over £3bn. All Government support for the sector has been welcomed, especially the furlough scheme but also the grant scheme for tourism, hospitality and retail businesses. However, the latter has been somewhat of a blunt tool that although helping some has left others unable to access anything. We have been in daily contact with DCMS, lobbying hard for as much support for the sector as possible. It is clear that they were both listening and championing
our cause, and perhaps that led in part to some of the welcome changes to the support structures we had been calling for, such as the extension of furlough and the reduction in VAT.
national plans for restart and recovery. Any campaigns to stimulate domestic tourism must take account of the availability and capacity of public transport, the views of public health officials regarding out-of-region visitors, the sentiment of local communities towards visitors and critically, the provision of accommodation, attractions, services and facilities in any given location. They simply cannot be delivered at a national level, and we are fighting for those funds to be devolved.
However, it still feels as though the tourism industry is not getting the support that it needs. As we pointed out in our submission to the DCMS Select Committee, there is no ‘T’ in DCMS. What we need is an increased sense of urgency and speed of decision making at the national level and a greater use of local Covid-19 has fully exposed knowledge and intelligence in the fragility and hand-to-
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mouth nature of the tourism and hospitality industry, and the fragmented nature of the organisations and associations intended to support them. This fragility has been caused through an erosion of support over many years. So many regular business support grants and programmes are now solely for the benefit of B2B businesses, leaving an entire sector effectively ineligible for support. There is no one-size-fitsall approach to supporting ‘recovery’ for this wonderfully diverse sector. It is made up of multi-million pound companies employing thousands of people and micro businesses creating bespoke, memorable experiences. We need to ensure that we don’t lose this diversity, it is why Lancashire has been so successful at 18
tourism to date, attracting the millions of visitors that we do. However, we also need to recognise that the sector is a critical part of our overall proposition – a key reason why people choose to live and work where they do. The sector serves much more than just ‘tourists’. DCMS needs to embed awareness and expertise about the value of the sector at all levels in Government. We have had three different Tourism Minsters in the last year alone, which is indicative of the importance placed on what is the fifth largest and fastest growing sector in the UK. At least it was. Covid-19 hit and Government was slow to react, particularly to create targeted support programmes that were relevant to the tourism and hospitality sector. They did not know what the sector
needed because they did not understand it and they did not value its worth. We need to evolve a mindset, this cannot be allowed to happen again. We need strong place leadership to tackle the challenges and deliver against our objectives, utilising all the inherent qualities that make Lancashire the place it is. We need to work together, locally, regionally and nationally. We are ready to create, build and regenerate. We are ready to redefine Lancashire for a post-Covid world. And we want to engage with businesses and residents from across the entire county to celebrate every inch of our towns, cities, villages, coast and countryside.
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What Next? Roundtable Discussion Downtown in Business brought together a powerful group of individuals from its network from across the country to gauge their opinions on Rishi Sunak’s Summer Statement and ask them what the Chancellor should be looking to announce in his October budget to get the economy back on track. As you would expect from a panel that included Sir Howard Bernstein, Emma Degg, Henri Murison, Jessica Bowles, Kevin Johnson
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and more, there was no shortage of debate and discussion. Free car parking in city centres, more resources to local authorities, greater powers to Combined Authorities and more support for our manufacturers and exporters were among the ideas to emerge from this special Downtown ‘Power Panel’.
“The devil will be in the detail of how support for young people is going to be delivered. There is stuff you just cannot deliver effectively at a national level. (The initiative) needs to be delivered by Combined Authorities, local growth companies, those who know their local business communities. And, we need to know what the Further Education settlement is going to be!”
“Rishi Sunak has had an impressive ‘war’. The government star of the crisis. However, I have been disappointed in the lack of mention of local government or devolution from him, from Michael Gove in his speech last week or from the Prime Minister. To do the things Rishi Sunak announced yesterday, local authorities need to be seen as genuine partners in helping to deliver.”
Emma Degg, CEO, North West Business Leadership Team
Kevin Johnson, Managing Director, Urban Comms
“Delivery has to be done locally. I want to see investment in construction, in proper apprenticeships. We are world leaders in science and technology. Invest in that. That would create boots on the ground projects now – and future growth opportunities.” Colin Sinclair, CEO, The Knowledge Quarter
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“We need to work out how we can get back to work. That is critical for cities. City centre footfall is only 20% at best. I’m into practical, localised, short-term solutions. What are we doing about free car parking? Deals from hotels – 2 for 1’s and 3 for 2’s? Cycling, where are the cycle racks? Getting people back onto public transport is critical – how are we going to do it? I think his statement has kicked the can down the road a bit.” Simon Bedford, Partner, Deloitte Real Estate
“I was disappointed that there was no mention of support for aerospace. Strategic investment is important for the county and we have a number of shovel ready schemes in Lancashire. Like others I’d hope for a much more significant cash investment in infrastructure projects than has been announced so far.” Stephen Young, Director of Economic Development, Planning & Environment, Lancashire County Council
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“Absolutely, we need more heft behind shovel-ready schemes. The £900m announced is a drop in the ocean. We also need to shift the messaging from ‘work at home if you can’ to ‘work in the office unless you absolutely can’t’. We need to get our cities moving again to support our economy; to support our hospitality sector and to support arts and culture.”
“The government needs to get a plan, a story and tell us what it is. This government doesn’t get place or devolution. They need to get back to placemaking and what it means. It’s a poor people’s crisis, so there needs to be a compact between the government and cities and the government and the real losers in this crisis.”
Jessica Bowles, Director of Strategy, Bruntwood
Professor Michael Parkinson, Regeneration Expert
“I think the government does have an interest in devolution, though I agree that if we are to deliver a skills revolution we need to give places the responsibility to deliver. There may now be a rethink of devolution in health and social care given the disaster of this crisis.”
“One of the things we need to support in the future is manufacturing, particularly in light of Brexit. So far, the Chancellor has been brilliant at plugging the biggest holes, but we will have to pay this money back. That means getting our economy moving again, supporting exporters and importers; backing our service industries.”
Henri Murison, Director, Northern Powerhouse Partnership
Chrissie Wadlow, Director, Western Union
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“Perhaps the recession may not be as bad as we may have feared, according to the Bank of England? We’ll know more by September. Therefore, whatever we do now, how does it build a pathway for the future? Sadly, not very much. Stuff like the Future Jobs scheme, VAT were needed, but were very predictable. My biggest concern is the centralised, top-down approach. We need to make a case that there is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach for this recovery. For economic transformation, we need decentralisation and more devolved powers.”
“The measures seem to be tinkering, rather than substantial. Boris has a track record of being bold. We need big politics. We’ve not seen that yet. We want to see big announcements, leadership. It’s okay saying HS2 is going ahead, but what about HS3, the Heathrow extension and significant infrastructure projects to get the economy moving again?” Simon Danczuk, Chair, Downtown in Business, London
Sir Howard Bernstein
The one thing you would tell the Chancellor to do in his October Statement: Chrissie Wadlow “Ensure the UK is positioned well on the international stage, including support for our Universities in attracting international students.” Henri Murison “More freedom for Combined Authorities and elected mayors.”
Kevin Johnson “Don’t waste the crisis. Continue to prioritise the tackling of the homelessness crisis. Sort social care once and for all.” Colin Sinclair “Wider and more attractive Enterprise Investment Scheme to encourage entrepreneurs to back innovative businesses.”
Jessica Bowles “Get stuck into R&D investment, beyond the ‘Golden Triangle’”
Simon Danczuk “Create a renaissance for local government.”
Sir Howard Bernstein
Emma Degg “Stop the chopping and changing. Think long term, starting with the creation of a 30-year energy strategy.
“Create a platform for re-capitalising businesses. Think nationally, execute locally.” Stephen Young “Prioritise help and support for young people, who have been the hardest hit by this crisis.”
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Words by:
Simon Danczuk Chairman of Downtown London In Business
In 1978 John James, an economic migrant from Whitehaven in Cumbria, lands in London and manages to secure a job running the Embassy Club in Bond Street. An offshoot of the famous New York nightclub, Studio 54, it attracts the same celebrity clientele. James recalls “I remember David Bowie; he would just walk 24
through the door and a frisson went around the room. I’d never felt anything like that... There were loads of famous people at that time, at its height.” It’s James’s introduction to the hospitality industry and he eventually moves to running clubs for Paul Raymond, the ‘King of Soho.’ This job morphs into running the strip-club owner and
publisher’s property empire and marrying his daughter Debbie. Fast forward decades and the wife he divorced and ex-father-in-law have died. His daughters, Fawn and India Rose James inherit what is now Soho Estates and John James is the Managing Director. This is a major property portfolio valued well over
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£1 billion. It’s prime real estate, as he points out: “Soho represents the centre of the West End, and the West End represents the centre of London as a city. It brings in the most revenue, the most people, the most vitality and is one of the most prosperous areas.” And what he and his team have been doing in recent years is: “a process of renew, redevelop, repair and replace. Since Paul’s death, making the buildings fit for a modern purpose.” The achievement can’t be underestimated. They invested in Soho House, now a major international chain, helped renovate that property and Kettner’s Hotel next door. They are just developing the former
Foyles bookshop site, own property in Leicester Square, and have numerous other buildings that have, or are to be, renovated.
This shines through not least because we are speaking during a pandemic, the economic impact of which is truly shattering.
He rebuts any suggestion of gentrification: “Soho was a slum… you could call ‘gentrification’ giving a place a toilet, or hot and cold running water. I would say it’s become more usable by modern people and modern families and we, as a company, Paul Raymond was always in favour of the small owner/occupier business.”
James describes the situation: “46% of the businesses on our roster are in hospitality that’s the centre of hospitality in London.” Normally: “52 million people walk from Piccadilly to the Hippodrome [in Leicester Square] per year. That tourism industry isn’t coming back quickly.”
This philosophy has stuck with James. Speaking to others in the commercial property industry, not known for its compassion, they describe him as: “benevolent,” and “altruistic.”
He describes part of Soho Estates solution: “I’ll talk to my tenants about rent after a month of trading, about how to pay the rent, to defer the rent, forgive the rent.” But he goes on to explain
John James, Managing Director, Soho Estates 25
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“John James is one of those people you can’t help liking. He has a warm humour, has seen so much of the world and whilst has a duty to the family business, you know he also carries an exceptionally strong responsibility for part of the Capital in which he has spent most his life.”
the other bit of his solution, the Soho Summer Street Festival campaign. We now know it’s been a success. He persuaded Westminster Council to temporarily pedestrianise many of the streets in Soho, allowing hospitality venues to spill onto the road. You can tell he understands the sector. “We need to get people trading again so we can start to recover.” Credit to the local authority for listening, and for all those
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who backed his campaign, from Bill Nighy to Damien Hirst, through to Amanda Holden, and thousands more besides. John James is one of those people you can’t help liking. He has a warm humour, has seen so much of the world and whilst has a duty to the family business, you know he also carries an exceptionally strong responsibility for part of the Capital in which he has spent most his life.
In many ways, John James arrival in London mirrored the lyrics of a Bowie song: “Bright lights, Soho, Wardour Street. You hope you make friends with the guys that you meet.” But over 40 years on James is no longer that outsider, he is now framed by the title of the song itself, he is one of ‘The London Boys.’
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City Leaders Outline Recovery Hopes in Downtown Den The leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese and Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson were in the Downtown Den this month, talking to DIB Chief Executive Frank McKenna about the range of issues and challenges that their respective cities are facing during these unprecedented times. In addition to the public health emergency that all local authorities have had
to deal with, core cities have also had to manage high volume public marches supporting the Black Lives Matter campaign; and in Liverpool celebratory gatherings following Liverpool Football Clubs Premier League success. Leese and Anderson were candid in their approach to such incidents – though unwelcome, the best way of policing such situations is ‘light touch’ where possible.
On the economic recovery plans that both leaders have been busy putting together, there was a shared view that despite the recent hit both cities were resilient enough to bounce back. Both leaders identified the importance of Liverpool and Manchester Airports as key players in driving the economy and agreed there is an even more urgent appetite now for big infrastructure projects 27
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Watch Now
such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse rail to happen in order to improve connectivity across the UK. The Liverpool Mayor expressed skepticism about the government’s commitment to its levelling up agenda, citing a decade of austerity as reason enough to be concerned about the support local authorities can expect from Boris Johnson’s administration, though he vowed to work constructively 28
with the Conservative’s to aid his city’s recovery plan. In a message to Manchester’s business community Leese said “Don’t sit back and let things happen to you. The future is something we can have done to us or we can shape ourselves. For businesses in the city there are many avenues for you to work with us to help create that future. If we do that, we can take control; we become successful rather than becoming victims.”
Mayor Anderson added: “I’d say to Liverpool firms, work with us. If you think there is anything we can do to help, let us know. I have regular meetings with business leaders, including Downtown, and we want to continue our business community. We will do all we can to fight your corner and get our city going again.”
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Cllr Sharon Thompson in the Downtown Den Watch Now
Downtown Den recently featured born and bred Brummies Prof Paul Cadman, DIB Birmingham chair and Cllr Sharon Thompson cabinet member of homes and neighbourhoods. The conversation opened on Sharon’s personal journey with homelessness in Birmingham “I was 16 when I became homeless, me and my mom had a falling out, as you do”. Sharon went on to use St Basils, a charity for vulnerable young people where she found support. She recalled on the services
and experience, stating that there were ups and downs and it was ultimately the birth of her son at the age of 19 which accelerated her drive for a career. Sharon first joined the housing association by volunteering, buggy in tow which led to her successfully securing a post. Prof Paul Cadman noted that Sharon’s personal experiences and time with the housing association has carried through into her cabinet position overseeing the biggest political housing portfolio in the country.
Sharon spoke about the work that has taken place for the vulnerable and rough sleepers in the city since COVID19 “We commissioned a commercial hotel to house them in temporarily, we used that in Birmingham as an opportunity that whilst they were in doors to do assessments” on the 15th of June the commercial hotel was emptied and all of those people were offered permanent accommodation”.
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The North is part of the Solution says LEP Chair Watch Now
In DIBs 100th lockdown ‘Downtown Den’ recording, three Local Enterprise Partnership chairs from across the Northern Powerhouse, Roger Marsh (Leeds City Region), Clare Hayward (Cheshire & Warrington) and Steve Fogg (Lancashire) were in conversation with DIB boss Frank McKenna, offering their thoughts and opinions on how the UK and the North in particular can recover from the Coronavirus crisis. The confident rallying cry from all three was that the 30
North was a solution for the UK, rather than a problem. They argued for more devolution, local delivery of recovery plans and the continuation of a radical approach to investment, particularly on big infrastructure projects, skills, education, and training. A dynamic green deal should form part of a new deal for cities, with a transformational plan for public transport, and alternative transport modes such as cycling and e-scooters.
There is also a need to recognise the talent and opportunity that exists in areas such as health, science, Research & Development, and the digital sector across the Northern Powerhouse. Roger Marsh, who is also the chair of the powerful NP11 group of LEPs, outlined his thoughts on the current crisis facing the country. “We have to strike a balance between optimism and realism. We will see business failures, so we need to create new opportunities for
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people. We need a new 3 ‘Rs’ approach. Rescue what we can today. Re-imagine a future for those who find themselves looking for a new challenge. Resilience against the next major challenges like the financial crash back in 2008 and the pandemic now. That is the scale of the task in front of us.” Clare Hayward added: “We may be masking the worst impact of the crisis at the moment, but there are organisations that have seized the opportunity of lockdown, re-thought
their business models and operations. We need to focus on such innovation across the region. We need a vision for the North that combines our asset base with that of the UK so we can play a confident role in rebuilding the country.” On Lancashire’s challenges Steve Fogg spelt out the County’s support for the hardest hit sectors. “Tourism, hospitality and aerospace industries, traditionally strong in Lancashire, have been badly hit. We have task forces in place, made up of
experienced leaders in these industry fields, who will be working with stakeholders to draw up plans not just for future strategies, but to help with short term survival too.”
“There are organisations that have seized the opportunity of lockdown, re-thought their business models and operations. We need to focus on such innovation across the region.” 31
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The Impact of COVID19 Words by:
Stephen Young Executive Director of Growth, Environment, Transport & Community Services at Lancashire County Council
The impact of COVID19 across the world has been unprecedented with all our lives having been changed in a way that seemed totally unthinkable even a few short months ago. In Lancashire our COVID19 story has been a sadly familiar one with the virus impacting on every aspect of county life from our people to our economy and whilst the effect on our communities will take years to truly heal, the current and more immediate priority for all the public sector bodies in Lancashire is that of our economy and what can be done to prevent lasting irreversible harm.
made by the Northern Powerhouse Independent Economic Review which identified the four prime capabilities of a modern Northern economy as Advanced Manufacturing, Energy, Health Innovation and Digital all areas in which Lancashire has significant strengths. In addition to which Lancashire can also boast strengthens in other sectors such as food and drink, the hospitality sector, education and increasingly logistics. The accumulation of which have grown our economy to be the second largest in the Northern Powerhouse.
The make-up of the modern Lancashire economy has evolved extensively from its heavy industrial past, gone are the days when the county depended almost exclusively on coal mining, manufacturing, heavy engineering and seaside tourism. This point is well
Yet despite the variety and breadth of our offer the impact of Covid-19 has still been severe and in some sectors critical. Just a momentary inspection of the key metrics we have been using to measure the economic impact of Covid-19 on the county make for
a depressing and sober read. Traditional retailing levels are down 75%, public transport usage is down 56%, people attending their workplace is down 45% with the unsurprising outcome of these flat-lining metrics being a drop in the overall economic output for Lancashire of anywhere between 20% to 25%. For some of our key industries such as manufacturing, tourism, retail and hospitality, the fall has been much sharper. So faced with such an economic reality and with the perennial challenge of not having a single representative body such as a Combined Authority to frame any conversation with government, the obvious and most immediate question is how do we bring together the different institutions in a two-tier area such as Lancashire to get behind a shared narrative aimed at 33
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moving our economy back in the right direction? Well the starting point for Lancashire, we felt, lay with the coming together of the key upper-tier and anchor public sector institutions to produce a decisive, honest and evidence-based document which would be shared with government and represent the start of a conversation around the support we need to re-ignite 34
our economy and grow. We wanted this conversation to build on our existing strengths but also be mature enough to acknowledge that elements of our economy are in decline and likely to fail in the new post COVID19 environment. Supported by a panel of industry and sector experts chaired by Rowena Burns, the current chair of the Manchester Science
Partnership and including such notable contributors as Sir Howard Bernstein, throughout late May and early June we worked with Deloitte in preparing an evidence-based economic recovery plan with the immediate aim of influencing short term budget announcements as well as establishing Lancashire as a key part of longer-term spending rounds.
Aware that many areas would also be lobbying government we wanted to stand out by being both powerful in our offer yet simple in our message. So we structured our ask around four areas: i) open for business – with a focus on the role of Lancashire's town centres, visitor attractions, countryside and destinations. Lancashire can and does support many important town locations and an extensive urban, coastal and rural tourism offer which is well placed to take advantage of the potential growth in domestic tourism demand in the near term. This proposition included a series of pilot programmes designed to support business reopening in a way that manages visitor demand, ensure safe access and promote sustainable travel. ii) made in Lancashire – A programme of measures acknowledging not only the role of manufacturing and production across Lancashire and its impact nationally, but also its talent and innovation assets. The programmes will support the development of local supply chains through restoring support and the development of local purchasing networks. iii) strategic infrastructure and development; Lancashire has a significant strategic
infrastructure and investment plan designed to provide the conditions to deliver economic growth and prosperity in the region. The plan includes transformational mediumterm projects with a value of over £10bn. These projects are aligned to Lancashire's ambitious growth potential and the plan would require investment to ensure the timely delivery of around £2bn of these capital projects and;
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“The emotional impact of Covid-19 will take years to address, but we must work quickly to address the economic challenges.”
iv) sector 'watchtower' aimed at the creation of a sector watchtower intelligence function to support the transfer of skills from sectors who are in decline due to COVID19 to more prosperous areas. Target sectors include health and social care, food, energy and agriculture – core strengths across the county and potential growth areas. The emotional impact of Covid-19 will take years to address, but we must work quickly to address the economic challenges. Through the decisive action we have taken around jobs, economic activity and confidence in Lancashire, we can protect what we have whilst also laying the foundations for the next period of our transformation and growth.
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