The Cities Case for Remain

Winter Gardens, Sheffield

Spread across the UK, our major civic leaders across our cities all say one thing. Voting to leave the European Union will have a harmful affect on our cities, particularly outside of London & the South East. Sir Howard Bernstein and Sir Richard Leese in Manchester, Mayor Joe Anderson of Liverpool to John Clancy, Leader of Birmingham City Council all argue our great cities are better off in Europe.

Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has come out today and declared leaving the EU will result in “serious economic decline” for our regional cities. Whilst also opting for some political point scoring he is right in that, “European money is necessary for renovation, renewal and regeneration – and right across the north, Scotland and Wales it is still vitally needed now.”

Evidence in the UK suggests we aren’t particularly strong when it comes to the fair distribution of funding to support regeneration, infrastructure, culture or skills across the country. (I would argue it’s this that has also given aided the rise of UKIP as areas are feel forgotten about and left behind in the first place – particularly as the UK tends to be coy about advertising where EU funding has been spent…)

Let’s talk transport. It’s widely known that London mops up transport spending in the UK. Spend is £2,700 per head in the capital compared to £134 in the North West and just £5 in the North East according to IPPR North. It’s hard to imagine schemes like the Manchester Metrolink expansion (~£500m of EU funding) would go ahead if it was subject just to the Department for Transports cost benefit methodology of ranking transport infrastructure projects. This is thought to be worth £200m each year to the Greater Manchester economy.

Exchange Square Metrolink Station, Manchester

EU funding also made Birmingham’s inner ring road possible. Both have considerably improved links around their respective cities, opening up development and employment opportunities.

How about Culture and Arts? Again, there is a huge gap in Government funding between the South East and the rest of the regions. According to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee spending in the SE was £165 per head but reduced to £47 per head in the regions on average. The obvious example of EU benefit here is Liverpool’s stint as the European City of Culture in 2008. The celebration increased tourism into the city by 35% and generated approximately £753m for the local economy.

Of course, it isn’t all about London vs the rest. London itself benefits considerably from the EU but EU funding has helped redistribute access to funding more fairly across the UK. Particularly in post-industrial areas such as South Yorkshire and Cornwall, where industries were decimated due to globalisation and government policy.

Therefore the development of skills is essential. Each year 500,000 people across the EU study aboard, in a variety of locations and in different vocations. Being able to access this skills base by being in the EU creates skilled worker migration, improves innovation, productivity and intercultural understanding across and between big cities.

As always, I’ll look close to home at partly or completely EU funded regeneration, transportation, flood protection and enterprise projects here in Sheffield for instance:

• The Heart of the City Programme, Peace Gardens & Tudor Square redevelopment
• Sheffield City Hall & The Crucible refurbishment
• Grey to Green Flood Scheme at West Bar
• Sheaf Square and the refurbishment of Sheffield Midland station
• Advanced Manufacturing Park at Catcliffe and link road improvements
• Fox Valley Retail Scheme

The key question is would this level of funding be replicated or enhanced for cities outside of London if the UK Government held the purse strings? The Leave campaign continually argue that EU funding is just recycled money – to which we could remove the middle man and decide where it is to be invested directly. Of course, it could be but evidence continually points strongly toward ‘No’ as we remain the most centralised country in Europe. Our cities would undoubtedly be economically and culturally weaker as a result.

Sheffield Winter Gardens Photo Credit: https://www.goskyride.com/assets/asset-library/images/2677_w475_b.jpg

Exchange Square, Manchester Metrolink Photo Credit: http://www.metrolink.co.uk/PublishingImages/Exchange%20Square%20web.jpg

 

Lights Out for the Green Deal

Photo source: Business Green

Yesterday DECC pulled the plug on the UK’s faltering flagship domestic energy efficiency programme, the Green Deal. In a move “to protect the taxpayer” according to Secretary of State, Amber Rudd MP. The latest figures released by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in July 2015 show that 1.54m energy saving measures were installed since the scheme launched. A significant proportion of these would have likely been delivered through the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) or as a direct result of the Green Deal Cashback incentives. The cashback scheme in particular was designed to give the Green Deal market a boost, that ultimately it failed to deliver.

 

Domestic energy inefficiency and fuel poverty is a significant issue in the UK. We still have some of the oldest and draftiest properties in Europe. It is hurting the economy and our pockets, affecting our health and putting increased strain on the NHS and is bad for the environment through high CO2 emissions.  A widely used figure is that an estimated 75% of our current housing stock will still likely be in use by 2050 – putting huge importance on domestic retrofit.

Energy efficiency has often proved a hard sell to the public. Even the Green Deal’s predecessor, Warm Front suffered from a chronic lack of demand and was unable to spend it’s budget. This despite it awarding a grant that was made available direct to homeowners for improvements.

I would suggest there are three main reasons why the UK public sometimes shy away from spending money on energy efficiency projects:

1. A lack of finance – On a direct choice between insulation and putting food on table, there will only be one winner. Housing improvement projects are often expensive and out of reach for many families.
2. A disbelief that efficiency projects will ever pay back – Understandably, the public continues to see bills rise and generally holds a mistrust toward the actions of energy companies. The general public aren’t energy experts and without clear smart meters, energy use isn’t overly transparent.
3. What happens if I move? – Money sunk into efficiency improvements would really need to add to the market value of a property, otherwise should a family decide to move the cost and benefits of the improvements is realised by any new owners.

I maintain the rationale behind the Green Deal was good – no upfront payments, a strict assessment and payback process in the ‘The Golden Rule’ and loan paybacks tied to the property rather than the individual. So what went wrong?

Undoubtedly general apathy played a part but the Green Deal always seemed to go against the Coalition’s message of reducing the deficit, spending cuts and overall message on debt. For me there was a direct contradiction in messages. A case of the right policy but at completely the wrong time? Perhaps.

Local Authorities were also painfully slow to act and to get their houses in order in regards to the policy. The LA’s were the vehicles through which the Green Deal was being promoted to their respective residents. The thinking was that the Council’s have a trusted brand so would be able to make the links locally and drive demand. Even throughout 2014, some still didn’t have a vehicle in play to deliver the improvements – many (including Sheffield) focused simply on ECO, which was essentially financially gutted in 2014. Others, such as Birmingham may now be wondering why they dedicated considerable capital to support the programme…

Also in regards to marketing? It was practically non-existent. Let’s be honest, you’d have to go hunting to find any information on the Green Deal. This despite DECC throwing around £3m at it.

Will it be missed? Certainly not. However initial thoughts are that to pull the plug on a scheme without a direct replacement are somewhat short sighted (add the same fate of Zero Carbon Homes and Renewable subsidies to that list). Even if DECC should announce a replacement tomorrow, there will still be a considerable lead in time whilst the details are ironed out. During that time, homes across the country will remain cold, drafty and hard to treat whilst market confidence in the industry will again take a blow and jobs will be lost.

The Mancunian Way or the Highway…

Call me a cynic, but I fully expected the slow ramping up of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ rhetoric to wither and die once the latest election cycle had come and gone.  Such is the general feeling toward those holding the purse and policy strings in Whitehall. There have been a number of interesting debates developing, especially given the rise in apparent nationalism in both Scotland (the tight referendum and the rise of the SNP) and England (calls for an English Parliament and a hefty bunch of votes for UKIP). As regions like Greater Manchester and Yorkshire and the Humber have economies and populations that equal or better Scotland and Wales, it was only a matter of time before English devolution was taken seriously.  As Nick Clegg once said, “the cat is out of the bag” on UK devolution.

Therefore it perhaps was slightly surprising to see the Chancellor up here again talking about Greater Manchester and city devolution.  The deal sees the region put in charge of it’s own housing, transport, skills and policing – on top of the localised NHS deal that was struck last year. Perhaps the Tories are serious about this after all? The only two cities with existing devolution deals in England are, of course Manchester and Sheffield (albeit a watered down model compared to that over the other side of the Pennines).

The keystone of this agreement is the acceptance of a Metropolitan Mayor who has the power to make decisions locally and work alongside Leaders from the region’s local authorities. The Mayor would be a local figurehead, whom to which overall responsibility would fall and would be democratically chosen by the electorate.

Initial feeling is that the acceptance of a formal Mayor is likely to prove a sticking point for some Combined Authorities. Especially those in city regions that have a less metropolitan “feel” in their make up. An elected Mayor for Leeds would also, presumably have responsibility for Huddersfield, Halifax and Wakefield,  whereas one for Sheffield would have to agree with politicians from Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Chesterfield before any agreement can take place. I suspect the politics around Birmingham could be even more fractured.

For instance, It is believed that the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority favour a Cabinet approach to regional decision making that would give each town a more equal say and therefore distribution of funding. Undoubtedly Osbourne will stick to his guns on elected mayors and therefore a major hurdle could be created. Council’s may point to the polls regarding mayors as an indicator that they are not wanted. Only Bristol out of nine cities voted in favour in 2012. Having voted ‘Yes’ at the time in the Sheffield vote, the cases for and against weren’t often made clear enough.

Unlike in Manchester, the political infrastructure in other cities is still relatively immature. In some cases, these towns have few connections to their core cities. Manchester exists, much like the City of London at the centre of the region and therefore provides a sensible point for power to reside. Not so the case elsewhere in the country. It’ll be interesting to see how that debate develops.

Regardless, the decision is welcomed for our cities to be given the opportunity to stand on their own feet and allocate funding where most appropriate. Hundreds of years of policy that encourages centralisation to the detriment of other regions (and soon the detriment of the capital given pressures on house prices and transport etc.) hopefully can begin to be corrected. Ultimately successes (and failures) will have accountability at a local level, which should help to grow economies, create jobs and revitalise local politics.

In fact, I suspect that certain services are much better delivered on this scale (e.g. planning, highways, refuse) so it may prove to be an interesting few years for our cities and the make up of our existing local authorities given pressures to continually find efficiencies.

Photo Source: Manchester Evening News, http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/news-opinion/devo-manc-give-take-back-8059435

One North: Victoria Option Gathers Momentum

One North. A catchphrase and an ideal thrown together by five of the UK core cities that comprise the ‘Northern Hub’. It is a concept that seems to be gathering some serious pace over recent months. On Tuesday a coalition of leaders from Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle released their plan to transform and to reconnect their respective cities. The One North report outlines £15bn of infrastructure development to transform inter-city movements in the region that seeks to compliment the existing proposals for HS2.

As a Sheffield resident, one of the more interesting consequences of the One North report is that the anticipated Meadowhall HS2 station is almost unworkable if it is going to serve both transportation schemes. Being a north-south facing proposal on the wrong side of the city, it would pose a number of serious logistical issues when attempting to compliment the One North proposal. The plans to link Sheffield and Manchester would be unworkable given the thirty minute target time outlined in the report.

The old Sheffield Victoria site once again comes to the forefront as a viable alternative to link both HS2 and the One North proposals into one cost-effective location. An existing west-east orientation is perfect for these much needed new Manchester and Liverpool services and would require considerably less tunnelling to make it a reality. It already has an existing rail pathway leading out of the centre towards Stocksbridge and Penistone that could be developed and upgraded before linking into new tunnels that could form the basis of the route (likewise for HS2 north to Leeds). Direct city to city connections remain the key to truly unlocking economic activity between our great northern cities, not possible at Meadowhall. Improvements to Leeds and Newcastle services are already accounted for under HS2.

I’d argue that a Sheffield Victoria HS2/’HS3′ station would be one of the biggest, most important infrastructure and regeneration projects the city has potentially ever seen. An attractive riverside and canal side location, directly next to the designated Riverside Business District, a redeveloped Castlegate quarter (Sheffield Masterplan 2013) and in an area that could currently do with some love and attention. Property and land values would soar and it would provide enormous regeneration opportunities in that half of the city. It also wouldn’t be overly expensive to connect the tram network at Nunnery for Meadowhall transfers and potentially even Tram Train options linking to Sheffield Midland near the Parkway. Optimistic? Potentially but it warrants serious thought.

Formal plans are as yet under development and the formal routes of both plans aren’t finalised. Sir David Higgs will release his recommendations and HS2 will announce a finalised route by the end of 2014. It’ll be interesting to see how this proposal develops as the One North report is endorsed by the Chief Executives of all five cities, with support also given from York and Bradford and other northern regions. One North is the latest in a long line of suggestions that Sheffield Victoria should still be in the Department for Transport’s thoughts and rightly so.

The One North report can be read on the Manchester City Council website. 
Read my earlier piece on the subject: HS2: Clegg Keeps City Centre Options Open

Featured image – Sheffield City Council 

Why can’t it always be like this? Showcasing spaces for major events and the lessons learned?

Couldn’t have put it better myself in all honesty. So here’s Andy Nolan’s thoughts on my last weekend was such a special one for Yorkshire.

Sustainable Smart Cities

This week my hometown city of Sheffield welcomed the Tour de France, having snaked its way from Yorkshire’s lesser cities (Leeds and York … only joking) through the rolling (and sometimes gruelling) hills of West and South Yorkshire. Not only did Yorkshire give itself a pat on the back for doing a marvellous job, it showcased the wonderful countryside and urban landscape the county has. More impressively, it showed how passionate, fun-loving and committed the people of this county are in coming out in the early hours of a Sunday morning to guarantee a front row seat on remote stretches of rural roads.

Blessed with great weather, 2.5 million people actively got up, left their TV sets and enjoyed the freedoms brought about by the event. Closed roads meant safer pedestrian environments; enhanced facilities for cycles to be parked meant many cycled (naturally) to watch the race; and to cope…

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Fossil Fuel Companies & the Carbon Bubble

Carbon Brief: What the fossil fuel industry thinks of the 'carbon bubble' http://t.co/9H1etunIW8 pic.twitter.com/PcDMjb7pvG

— George Smeeton (@GSmeeton) July 9, 2014

Not sure which amuses me most. Probably ExxonMobil…

Either way it’s a typical case of highly invested interest, where these companies would have to fundamentally change or face extinction in a low carbon society.

My favourite book on the subject remains Mike Berners-Lee and Duncan Clarke’s ‘The Burning Question’. I recommend you read it. The following figures are taken from their book.

The invested interest is so very simple to see. We can burn 565 gigatonnes more CO2 to have a reasonable chance of preventing 2°C warming across the planet.

There are approximately 2,795 gigatonnes of carbon in known resources of fossil fuels around the globally. These assets are already incorporated in the market values and share prices of these companies. JP Morgan estimates these resources to be worth up to $27 trillion dollars. To even have a tiny chance of staying under 2°C it would involve wiping off about $20 trillion in assets.

All of a sudden their responses make perfect business sense. Even if the planet has to burn as a result…

Tarmac, Tarmac and more Tarmac

On Monday the Government announced the funding that Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) will receive to boost economic growth across the UK. The Sheffield City Region LEP (SCR) will be given a boost of £320 million with the overall aim of creating 28,000 jobs and allow 40,000 more to enter into training and apprenticeships.

The deal is apparently the fifth biggest of the 39 LEP areas, meaning Sheffield has done pretty well out of the whole process. Slowly and steadily the ability to be able to take more decisions to be taken at a local level is happening.  It’s a huge boost for the local economy and it’s people, you may think.

Although, I can’t shake the feeling that this is a still a huge opportunity missed to invest in a more sustainable, more low carbon economy. By my calculations upwards of £275m will be spent on transport infrastructure programmes, which are almost exclusively based around laying more and more tarmac across the region.

It feels as if the SCR rather than putting together proposals that will assist in improving accessibility, air quality, the health of residents and move away from fossil fuel dependence have pulled infrastructure projects off a dusty shelf that they have kept for a rainy day. For example, could no finding be found for a much needed expansion to the SuperTram network to link up some of the busiest areas of congestion? Or to create a first class cycle route network not just in Sheffield but in its surrounding areas? Improvements that would bring very real economic, social and environmental benefits to all.

Yes, it is known there has been an embarrassing underinvestment in areas of the north in terms of transport infrastructure compared to the South East. Whilst I don’t blame SCR for throwing funding at it whilst it is available. However,  I believe there are better ways to do things. There are plenty of academic studies and case studies that show the induced demand from building new roads simply leads to a worsening problem and creates more traffic. Let alone more congestion, more CO2 emissions and continually worsening air quality around our streets.

Infrastructure is about so much more than simply building roads, and whilst some are undoubtedly needed this feels like a tremendous missed opportunity.

HS2: Clegg Keeps City Centre Options Open

There’s been plenty of discussion from Central Government about the need to rebalance our national economy to “take the heat” off London and the South East. Following the documentary by Evan Davis making the case for Hebdon Bridge to be Britain’s second city, there seems to be a flurry of politicians lining up to talk about the ‘Great Northern Hub’. You can tick George Osbourne, David Cameron, Ed Miliband and now Nick Clegg. Whether this is pre-election rhetoric it remains to be seen. At very least it is positive that those in power are talking about it. With HS2 looking increasingly like it’ll be officially rubber stamped, it’s well past time to start planning for it.

HS2 among other transport upgrades, is seen as central to delivering the connectivity between the north to facilitate and strengthen the regional economies. The Deputy PM and Sheffield Hallam MP has once again opened up the opportunity that a City Centre station could still go ahead (see Sheffield Star). Whilst other cities have identified and begin to plan for new stations or adapting existing ones (e.g. New Lane in Leeds or Manchester Piccadilly). Sheffield however continues to deliberate.

Indecision continues between Sheffield City Council and it’s colleagues in the wider Sheffield City Region about where to site the new HS2 station should be sited. A Meadowhall location would seemingly share out the economic benefits regionally and is already a well established transport and retail hub. Whilst refurbishing and rebuilding at the old Sheffield Victoria station would bring a tremendous boost to the city itself as well as being close to the cultural attractions, offices and population in and around the City Centre.

The Meadowhall site is an interesting concept although there are some significant environmental concerns about the area. It suffers from some of the poorest quality air in the UK around the Tinsley Viaduct, congestion is already a huge issue and the area is in the Don Valley floodplain. The Sheffield City Region, Sheffield Council and to a lesser extend Rotherham MBC (on the other side of the M1) need to build a credible master-plan for the area and how it links with both economic centres. The concern is that it fails to serve either and travel times and rail capacity into Sheffield and Rotherham remain almost static. Of course, much can and will change in time before we finally see HS2 in South Yorkshire. Both provide excellent economic arguments but it is time for decision to allow the region to really start planning for its arrival.

The final route for HS2 is set to be firmed up by the end of the year. There needs to be a united approach from the Sheffield City Region to decide where the station is to be built and where will bring most benefit. Personally, I’m happy to see Clegg declare the door is still open for Sheffield Victoria – primarily as I believe major city centres is where the connectivity needs and should to be. A retail shopping centre aside, it lacks social infrastructure that would really bring people and businesses into Sheffield. Victoria also opens up the opportunity for much improved regional transport and vastly improved links to Liverpool and Manchester, which are particularly poorly served from Sheffield. It is close to both the regions main Universities, to cultural offerings from theatre to music to architecture to regional events, to centrally based businesses and (if it ever actually goes ahead) a much stronger new retail quarter.

Only such connectivity can create this ‘northern hub’ had our politicians seem to be dreaming of.  I can’t see how a Meadowhall location can compete in that instance. Perhaps Nick Clegg should be lobbying the issue a little stronger for his constituents and the city.

For those interested – the Sheffield Victoria business case by Volterra can be found here – and likewise the Meadowhall HS2 information is here.

If you plan for cars & traffic you get cars & #traffic. If you plan for people & places, well… via @PPS_Placemaking pic.twitter.com/R85geiZLTP

— Brent Toderian (@BrentToderian) July 2, 2014

Sheffield: An Introduction of Sorts

On a semi-regular basis I often hear from civil servants, local businesses and friends talk about how green Sheffield is as a city. It’s exceptionally visible when you climb one of the cities seven hills to seek a view or two. Whether you view the city from Crookes, Skye Edge or the Manor, tree cover from the cities various parks and countryside is hard to miss.

Some wise soul once deemed the place, “a mucky picture in a beautiful frame“. True, it’s real draws are in it’s green spaces and it’s closeness to the beauty of the Peaks but the city itself continues to slowly reinvent itself. There is much work being done to reintegrate wildlife corridors, to move away from fossil fuels and to embrace district heat for example. The city’s industry continues to switch from dependence on highly-carbon intensive industries to those that have the potential for a much lower carbon future. The basis is there for a truly green city, it just needs continued political will. I look forward to exploring some of these aspects in more detail over time.

Despite not truly being a local, – I grew up on the flat banks of the Swale in a small town – I make no excuse of using this fine city as the basis for a good few posts along the way where it is relevant and it inspires. I’m sure even Sittingbourne may warrant a reference or two along the way.

On Sunday, the Tour de France will roll into town as it Stage 2 draws to a close. Hopefully the event will continue to encourage more out onto their bikes and to explore the city and to see it in a completely different way. Likewise, I hope the atmosphere inspires me.

Welcome aboard.