Recently in Politics Category

The lucky winners of the first round of the government's £1.4bn Regional Growth Fund prize give-away have been announced today.

Interestingly, the amount of money allocated in the first round is £450m rather than £250m as previously expected. The second (and as it transpires final) round of bidding has now opened.

A full list of the winners can be found by clicking here, and below is a round-up of some of the recation from the regions:

In Manchester, Bruntwood's proposal to convert the former Royal Eye Hospital into a biomedical hub has been welcomed. The Manchester Evening News says that along with a second successful proposal in Greater Manchester - Muse Development's scheme at Ashton Moss - around £6m will be invested. Treasury secretary Danny Alexander (pictured above with Bruntwood's Michael Oglesby and Colin Sinclair) visited the site this morning.

The industry and regional media have now had some time to digest the coalition government's second budget. Here's a round up of reactions.

Infrastructure

• The Business Desk North West focusses on reaction to the £900m rail investment in the region, which will see the railway line between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Blackpool electrified, and which has been welcomed by Eric Pickles.

• Peter Lees, head of Jones Lang laSalle's Manchester office: "Although the detail behind the Enterprise Zone plans will need to be reviewed closely once released, the forecast fiscal measures and planning strategies will be a welcome boost to our local markets."
• Ed Cox from think tank ippr: "Enterprise Zones have been tried in the past and found wanting - they're more successful at encouraging businesses from neighbouring areas to relocate than they are at creating new jobs."
• Rachel Tooby of think tank Centre for Cities: "Questions remain about whether the emphasis on business rate discounts and capital allowances - updated versions of the main incentives offered thirty years ago - will be enough to create additional jobs at the levels desired. Where Enterprise Zones will make a positive difference is in allowing local authorities to borrow to finance important investments for their economy, like new transport infrastructure."

• The Business Desk Yorkshire provides budget reaction from the region's businesspeople, many of which are sceptical that the chancellor has not gone far enough to support growth. It also reports that the Leeds city region has opened talks with the government to host an arm of the Green Investment Bank, which was announced yesterday.

• Jones Lang LaSalle's head of Leeds office, Jeff Pearey: "The planning process has long been regarded as time consuming and expensive; hopefully this stimulus, together with other measures aimed at the planning system, will be seen by developers investing in our region as changes for the positive."
• Nigel McGurk of Lancashire-based Ainscough Strategic Land: "A blanket statement about maintaining the green belt demonstrates a lack of understanding of what's actually going on. We live in a dynamic world and some of the country's green belt simply fails to do the job it was originally established to do many decades ago."
• How Planning's Jon Suckley: "Whilst the presumption in favour of sustainable development will be widely supported, design and sustainability are wide ranging topics and the full detail of the new approach - as presented in the emerging Green Paper - will be important to ensure that it does not lose its objective of promoting development."

• GL Hearn director Blake Penfold: "Today's budget announcements do not reduce the complexity of the business rates system, indeed they increase it."

• Declan Flynn Managing Director of Lisney's Northern Ireland division: "Regionally [the announcement to help first time buyers] should help Northern Ireland most as it only applies where joint incomes are less than £60k - though how many of the 10,000 new homes we get - ultimately we will find out in due course as this unfolds. At least the chancellor has shown a willingness to help in this area. Regarding budget comments on REITS, it is our view that they may become more active in Northern Ireland given the attractive yields available here."
  
  
  

We are live blogging about the 2011 Budget so this post is prone to inaccuracy, omissions and typos

As Chancellor George Osborne delivers the coalition government's second budget from 12.30pm today, we'll be on hand with updates on the salient points and reaction from around the regions. This post will update throughout the afternoon.

12.35: Osborne: "We gambled on a debt-fuelled growth that failed."

12.38: 2011 growth revised to 1.7% due to weaker than previously expected Q4 2010. Down from original 2.1% forecast.

12.42: Borrowing due to fall from £146bn to £29bn by 2014/2015.

12.44: Osborne says that growth needs to be spread around the UK, and not just London.

12.50: Osborne: "I want Britain to be the place international corporations go to, not the place they leave": Reducing corporation tax by 2% rather than 1%, making it the lowest in the G7.

12.53: Planning system in the spotlight: Councils spending more although the number of applications are down. Osborne mentions use class changes, auctions for planning permission on land. "Cumbersome planning stands in the way of new jobs."

12.54: "The default answer to development will be 'yes'" says Osborne. He mentions sustainable development in particular. Developers will be pleased to hear it.

Local press reports today suggest that Liverpool council will axe its £150,000-a-year funding for its prescence at MIPIM, making it highly unlikely that the city will have a stand at next year's event in Cannes.

With George Osborne gearing up to announce the outcome of the government's comprehensive spending review tomorrow, local authorities across the country will be nervously analysing their outgoings.

It begs the question as to whether Liverpool council will be the first of many local authorities to decide that a week down on the French Riviera next year - no matter how worthwhile annual visits to Cannes have been in the past - might not be in order given the era of austerity they find themselves in.

Old Town Cannes image courtesy of Will Palmer from Flickr

Eric Pickles must be having a particularly busy week as he sifts through a deluge of local bids from local people.

Monday was deadline-day for all prospective local enterprise partnerships to bombard the secretary of state with how-and-why they should replace the outgoing regional development agencies as the champions of regional regeneration.

In total, 56 prospective LEPs submitted bids, and as reported by EGi and Public Finance, the government has already been forced to argue that LEPs will have the necessary clout to replace the RDAs.

Here's what the regional press has been saying about some of the bids:

• Greater Manchester/Merseyside: In perhaps the most audacious of the bids, North West uber-landlord Peel Holdings submitted a bid to create a Merseyside/Greater Manchester-wide LEP, based on its Atlantic Gateway development proposals. Indeed, the Manchester Evening News reports that the plans have put Peel at loggerheads with Greater Manchester's 10 local authorities.

It seems the word 'region' could be scrapped from the coalition government's dictionary.

That's was the amusing declaration from the shadow housing minister John Healey at this morning's seminar held by The Smith Institute at Westminster's Portcullis House.

As just down the road in a Westminster Hall debate the BPF said Tory MPs were welcoming secretary of state Eric Pickles decision to scrap Regional Strategies, panelist Healey claimed that in a memo leaked to him the coalition is that against the regional level of government (or more accurately the regional development agencies), that they've issued a directive decreeng the word be erased from the coalition's vocabulary.

The day of reckoning is upon us, and there is a palpable air of anticipation in the newsroom at EG Towers as the editorial team prepares to cover the 2010 emergency budget and what it means for the property industry.

John Forbes, head of PricewaterhosueCoopers' real estate industry practise, is joining us for the afternoon to offer his expert view on George Osborne's cuts and tax hikes.

I'll be updating this post throughout the day to provide images and behind-the-scenes access to EG's coverage, as it happens. (Click on the image below to be taklen to our Flickr page for more detailed descriptions).

Wirral Waters may not flow quite as smoothly for Peel Holdings if the local council takes up recommendations made in a report by GVA Grimley next week.

Recessions are an occupational hazard for any long term project and now it seems politics might be too.

Peel has £4.5bn plans for Birkenhead's waterfront and its East Float application - part of the 20-30 year Wirral Waters scheme - was due to be heard back April when the council was run by a Lab-Lib Dem coalition. May 6 saw that coalition change to Con-Lib Dem and the hearing for the 1.4m sq ft application pushed back to the end of July.

The Integrated Regeneration Study - the clue is in the title - urges that regeneration should concentrate on the existing town centre and that Wirral Waters should be integrated fully into that.

It states: "Although Wirral Waters is very important to the regeneration of the borough, it must be integrated with the surrounding areas, specifically including the [town's housing market renewal] area and Birkenhead town centre."

Two weeks, two deals; and for one lucky Leeds developer they are both in the same building. Wilton Developments managed to secure a second letting at its speculative 10 South Parade (pictured) this time to Odgers Berndtson (a recruitment consultant) yesterday.

But cancel the marching band and rewind the streamers.

Without taking away from Wilton's Development's massive achivements in getting the building over a third let it's worth noting that the deals are tiddlers with 3,200 sq ft (to Odgers Berndston) and 8,200 sq ft to Xafinity Consulting earlier in the month. For Odgers' it was a lease event that triggered the move. I've asked what the rent was and what goodies were given to Odgers to help convince them to move, but the developer has yet to return that call.

As we've said in this week's mag, new supply is edging towards the half a million mark in the Yorkshire capital. The news from the sparkly new buildings is still few and far between.

In the next two weeks the council will go to committee to decide on its own 120, 000 sq ft purchase and relocation. In the running are three of the sparkly great hopes for the Leeds market: Highcross's 170,000 sq ft Broad Gate, Deltalord's 117,000 sq ft The Mint, and IVG's 120,000 sq ft Latitude Red.  

But the Queen's speech yesterday cast a shadow on anything which involves government putting its hand in it pocket and according to the British Property Federation it is looking to do more than just nip and tuck council staff. Talk to Leeds property folk and they're a bit iffy as to whether the requirement will and can go ahead.

Related posts:

Awarding times in Yorkshire

Which is the best city in the UK - and did things only get better under Labour

Trinity Leeds pics and a walk around the Yorkshire capital