DIB group chair and chief executive Frank McKenna reports on UKREiiF 2025
Along with 14,000 other delegates, local government leaders, and a growing number of metro mayors, I headed to Leeds this week for the annual property industry jamboree that is UKREiiF.
With the sun shining down on the righteous in Leeds, it was the perfect few days to meet up with old friends, engage with new contacts, and, in the case of Downtown in Business, host a couple of great fringe events.
Monday lunchtime, we were at the excellent Fazenda for a discussion on the future of city centres and high streets, and the key role Business Improvement Districts play in this space. Many thanks to the Director for City Centre development at Leeds City Council Angela Barnicle for leading the discussion, alongside BID leaders Bill Addy (Liverpool), Dan Johnson (London), and Andrew Cooper (Leeds).
Our annual REiiF dinner provided DIB partners the chance to hear from the City of Wolverhampton Council CEO, Tim Johnson, Halton Borough Council chief executive Stephen Young, the Interim chief executive of Salford City Council, Melissa Caslake, and the Director of place and prosperity at Birmingham City Council Richard Lawrence.
Finally, on Tuesday, I facilitated a conversation at the Liverpool City Region pavilion with Capital & Centric boss Tim Heatley, Coventry City Council chief executive Julie Nugent, and the LCR mayor Steve Rotheram.
Transport connectivity, the drive to net zero, the need for more devolution, and a range of regeneration strategies were unveiled at our events and many others. The challenge of skills shortages was discussed at length, as was the need for those promised reforms to planning, procurement, and red tape to be delivered as a matter of urgency.
This was all good stuff. And it is clear to see that there is no shortage of ideas, ambition, and optimism from regional leaders across the country.
The problem? I’ve heard it all before. Indeed, I’ve heard it in Leeds, at UKREiiF, for the last four years.
Some of the project names may have changed (the Northern Powerhouse has been replaced by the Northern Arc, the Midlands Engine is no more), but the core ‘asks’ in 2025 date back to 2021 – and probably before.
If the government is serious about economic growth, it would do well to listen to the pleading from those local authority leaders, mayors, and business leaders who, once again, made those pleas in Leeds.
On skills, kick your education civil servants into shape and insist that they devolve training budgets to mayors and Combined Authorities. Also, take note Yvette Cooper and prime minister, your newfound bullishness on immigration may have unintended consequences – exacerbating skills shortages, and killing our university sector.
On transport, for goodness’ sake, please just get on with it. HS2 may have been agreed for the West Midlands, but there is no definite date for its completion. As for the north of England, it is now, as Andy Burnham said in Westminster last week, on its 99th iteration of transport initiatives for which the region has been trying to win government support.
On net zero – is the government going to stick with the Ed Miliband agenda, or go all Reform?
And on devolution – if the government really does believe in it – then surely fiscal devolution is where it needs to get serious.
Otherwise, UKREiiF will continue to be a forum for local government and regional business leaders to come together and plead with Westminster for support – whereas it should really be the place where Andy Burnham & co can stand up and tell you what they are going to do, rather than what they would like to do – if only the government would let them.
FOOTNOTE: A special shout our to the Liverpool City Region team for their efforts this year. I have been underwhelmed at previous UKREiiF’s by the Mersey authorities offer. But this time out, they showcased their impressive investment opportunities brilliantly, matching their West Midlands, Manchester, and North East colleagues.
Many thanks to DIB UKREiiF sponsors the Liverpool BID Company, Krol Corlett, Lovell, Nugent, Seddon, Steven Hunt Associates, Starship, Sutcliffe, and Warwick North West. You can see their reflections on this year in Leeds below.
