Event Summary

Question Time 2024 | Photos + summary

11 November 2024 15:33 Charlie Valentine Comments (0)

The RIBA award-winning Stoller Hall swapped out live music for an intriguing Place North Question Time event, where political leaders, investors, and industry figures took to a panel to take questions from Place North’s editorial team and members of the audience.

The Budget, international investment, pan-Northernism, unpopular opinions, and going at it alone with transport were all on the agenda, as two rounds of panellists took to the stage to debate and offer professional opinions from all corners of the industry.

Place North’s Question Time was sponsored by Cavendish, Salford City Council, and Brabners.

QT Sponsors logos

Scroll to the bottom of the story for the event photo gallery.

Budget discussion

The first of the two panels – hosted by Dan Whelan, Place North’s deputy editor – sparked debate on the Budget, the relevance of the last 14 years, and collectively banging the Northen drum.

Paul Dennett, Mayor of Salford and deputy mayor of Greater Manchester, said the budget was “broadly positive” but was clear that more needs to be done. He cited the £500m earmarked for affordable housing in the Budget as “the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the needs are”. Dennett stated that the focus of government now should be on strategic planning to maximise the benefits drawn from development.

Vincent Hodder, chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport, had a different stance from that of the Labour politician, arguing instead that the Budget is “going to put the brakes on employment”. Hodder claimed Labour’s proposals would not lead to “material change” in the economy, suggesting “you give a pay rise with one hand, you increase the prices with the other hand”.

READ MORE: Fixing the foundations – property industry reacts to Budget

Charlotte Cordingley, chief executive of Clear Futures, spoke positively of the government’s commitment to skills development through Skills England. She said: “What we need to be very focused on is the skills aspect of the industrial strategy.”

Mike Palin, executive director for markets, partners, and places at Homes England, was asked specifically about the £500m promised towards affordable housing. He said it was an “important amount of money”, but also indicated the funds were a “big signal as to what might be coming in spring”. Palin said that he hoped that the spring Spending Review might provide Homes England with more financial flexibility.

Laura Percy, senior development director at LandsecU+I, said: “The bottom line is the economy is not in the right place.”

In addition, she noted: “Viability continues in our industry to be a massive challenge”. She added the government needs to encourage private investment into the North and “create the right environments” to overcome viability challenges.

On viability, Palin bemoaned a lack of understanding, arguing “if the scheme is fundamentally unviable, there is no private sector incentive to even do the capacity and capability to bring the scheme forward.” He indicated grant funding for long-term investments must be secured to overcome these difficulties.

Clear Futures’ Charlotte Cordingley, Homes England’s Mike Palin, LandsecU+I’s Laura Percy, Salford’s Paul Dennent, and Vincent Hodder of Leeds Bradford Airport on the first panel, hosted by Place North West’s deputy editor Dan Whelan. Credit: Place North

Controversy over looking back

Dennett was quick to motion to the last 14 years of Conservative governance as a reason for a somewhat stale Budget, known by most for its £40bn tax rise.

Forward-thinking Hodder wanted to find solutions for the future rather than leaning on past failures as a benchmark.

“What I care about is where I am now, what the government is doing, and what that drives for the future… let’s stop complaining about what happened before, and let’s focus on what we are going to do with what we have now to take this forward in a really positive way,” he said.

On the role strategic partnerships could play in nationwide development, Cordingley said we need a “big systemic shift change”, as the private sector has failed to pick up housing delivery that has declined in the UK since the end of the 1980s. To encourage the kind of long-term investment strategic partnerships can deliver she believes we “need to ensure that there’s an appropriate risk and reward structure in place, and that the private sector is making a reasonable return”.

Percy was asked what, as a developer, she would want from the private sector. Gap funding was her request, noting “layer upon layer of funding stacks [are needed] to make this work.”

She quipped: “A lot of subsidies, please, Mike”.

Northern collaboration

A key aspect of the discussion was a focus on trust and collaboration, which Hodder believes is the key to productivity and growth in the North. He compared Manchester Airport and its successful strategic planning to his venture, Leeds Bradford Airport, which is underserved by B-roads and poor passenger connections – hence the drastic fall in traveller numbers on the eastern side of the Pennines.

In agreement with the need for connectivity, Percy added: “This is a huge productivity barrier, not reaching out, not collaborating, and not working together.”

She continued: “We have to keep banging the drum collectively, on improving that, improving those connections, improving productivity, working together across our cities, because that’s good for all of us.”

From the audience, Savills director Jeremy Hinds asked about the impact of having Labour-led local and national governments. His question was met with positive responses, with Cordingley stating that with more “reliant” politics, we could “start to deliver on some of the bigger, aspirational projects”.

Finally, a question for each of the panel on what would be a ‘silver bullet’ (excluding funding) for faster growth in the industry.

For Palin, a dual accountability model between both national and local government and Homes England would make a big difference.

Cordingley honed in on trust and greater collaboration with public-private partnerships as her solution.

Percy believed skills, training, and R&D could unlock developments, and breakthroughs in innovation could drastically bring down costs and durations.

Dennett suggested greater devolution – “Westminster and Whitehall letting go of power and control” – would liberate local authorities to focus on their own communities and entrenched regional strengths.

Hodder argued planning reform is needed to “allow genuine investment in new infrastructure”.

He continued: “Investment in infrastructure is the piece that unlocks the beginning, but equally for the longer term.”

Salford Mayor Paul Dennett and chief executive of Leeds Bradford Airport Vincent Hodder disagreed on the Budget’s benefits. Credit: PNW

Unpopular opinions

Julia Hatmaker, editor of Place North West, chaired the second panel of the evening, which featured two prominent political figures in the North West and Yorkshire: Liverpool City Council Leader Cllr Liam Robinson and Bradford Council Leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe of Bradford. The panellists were offered a chance to air their ‘unpopular opinions’ on how to improve the North to the audience, as well as the drawbacks of devolution, and the fruits of ‘pan-Northernism’.

Sarah Butler, government sector head at Drees & Sommer, went for extending the Metrolink to Warrington. She admitted her unpopular opinion was really a desire to improve her commute, but was clear Warrington could be an efficient gateway to both Liverpool and Manchester if transport speeds were improved.

David Mawson, chief executive at Placefirst, argued as a nation we needed to be more selective about where we choose to grow, prioritising looking at the future benefits of well-chosen sites.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Leader of Bradford Council, joked that being a politician meant she acted on ‘unpopular opinions’ daily, citing Bradford’s clean air zone and grumbling residents upset with the inconvenience caused by the installation of tram lines.

Cllr Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, chose to move the UK’s capital to the North, in the hope of opening Whitehall’s eyes.

Ben Bradley, strategic adviser for devolution at Cavendish, caused a stir when he contrarily suggested that the North was held back by the tendency to consider the North of England as a whole. Rather, he suggested, individual regions need to find their own unique selling point to draw greater private investment. He argued cities focusing on integration across the North are reducing their ability to fuel their own identity. Instead, authorities should divide sectors and industries between them, ensuring that each region has the capital, skills, and retention ability for specific sectors, such as manufacturing, life sciences, or technology.

Bradley’s claims proved controversial, and faced rebuttals from Hinchcliffe, who said: “We got devolution in West Yorkshire a few years ago, and we got that by working together, and that’s brought in tremendous investment.”

The spotlight then turned to Robinson, who was asked how his Liverpool stands out in the face of its neighbour, Manchester, to draw investors to the city. Robinson said he wanted to focus his attention outwards and globally, noting Liverpool’s international reputation and the Port of Liverpool’s importance as a west coast trading hub.

Hinchcliffe was asked a similar question about Bradford being in Leeds’s shadow. She claimed the cities are “great partners” and Bradford would specialise in the maturing of its workforce – 25% of Bradford’s population is under the age of 16.

The second panel of the evening featuring Cavendish’s Ben Bradley, Liverpool’s Liam Robinson, Bradford’s Susan Hinchclifffe, Placefirst’s David Mawson, and Drees & Sommer’s Sarah Butler, was chaired by Place North West editor, Julia Hatmaker. Credit: PNW

Inward investment

The panel was asked how vital securing inward investment is to achieve housebuilding aims. Placefirst’s Mawson said: “The biggest challenge is finding not the challenge, but the biggest opportunity… finding local authorities who’ve got the will, the desire, and are prepared to make commitments and make choices.”

He added: “As a private sector, we need to do deals quickly. We need to get around some of the ridiculous procurement laws that are out there, which makes things so blooming hard.”

Hinchcliffe proposed a kind of ‘pan-Northernism’, which involves the region boosting its brand as a whole. She said we need to “see ourselves as an investable proposition across a Northern package”.

Drees & Sommer’s Butler agreed, adding: “It’s about being able to justify the return on investment, not just from an economic perspective, but a social value perspective as well.”

Drawbacks of devolution

Cavendish’s Bradley replied to a question on the limits of devolution from Turner & Townsend director David Kemp by suggesting strong leadership is required in order to reap devolution’s potential rewards. He said public figures like Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham are successful because he put Manchester at the forefront of the conversation. He suggested that if a local authority fails to be coherent and agree on a set of priorities, they may flounder in the face of greater devolved powers.

This position was echoed by Robinson and Mawson. Mawson added success was possible “as long as you’ve got the right people to pick up the bat and make decisions, and get things over the line”.

Robinson said: “The alternative to devolution is people in a far-off place called Whitehall.”

When asked by audience member Joanne Anderson, former Mayor of Liverpool and director at Innervision Consultancy, what the panellists would do differently to ensure regeneration assisted those on the lowest income, Hinchcliffe highlighted skills investment and the ‘spreading out’ of opportunities.

Liverpool City Council Leader Cllr Liam Robinson and Bradford Council Leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe found common ground discussing ‘pan-Northernism’. Credit: PNW

Transport priorities across the North

When panellists were asked by Nicola Kane, director at Steer, about transport across the North, they generally all agreed on the benefits of increased connectivity between Northern cities to improve the geographic mobility of the population.

The widely touted privately funded Birmingham to Manchester train line was also on the agenda.

Cavendish’s Bradley commented: “There are all sorts of private sector businesses who are invested in wanting better transport”.

He encouraged such privately funded schemes, adding: “What you end up with is a product, whether that be a train line or a bus service, or a member of staff that is bespoke to what you need. As a business, there’s a lot to be said for that.”

Mawson suggested instead of pushing for more transport options, with the flexibility of remote working, satellite towns should take on more development. He argued people no longer feel the need to live in city centres if they reside on a commuter line.

Hinchcliffe added collaboration was crucial: “It’s very important with all our transport ambitions, to work cross-party, so that whoever’s in power, these are long-term schemes, all parties need to be signed up to it, and then the private sector has the confidence to invest around those transport hubs because they know they’re going to happen.”

The evening was rounded off by continued discussion and light-hearted networking, indicating that the North is ready to collaborate on its future – whether or not Whitehall comes along for the ride.