[Reposted from Jan 2012] Andy Travers Goes Up To Town

On 9 September 2011, London Councils hosted a workshop to examine the options available to London boroughs seeking to finance economic development and regeneration. It follows on from the publication of the London Councils report 'Investing in London'.

"With central government funding for regeneration having virtually ceased, and the costs of borrowing from the Public Works and Loans board rising significantly, London boroughs face increasing difficulty in securing funding to support large scale economic development/regeneration.

"It is clear that the private sector is going to play a much wider part in financing regeneration projects. [And in some cases, like Barnet, the local authority will cede all democratic control.]

"The workshop looked to furnish borough officers with information on the various tools through which economic development can be financed, what is likely to attract investors and developers into partnerships with boroughs, and the safeguards that both borough treasurers and private investors will want in place. [Barnet wants safeguards?]

The event was chaired by Andrew Travers, Deputy Chief Executive of Barnet Council [working on a £1000-a-day contract - see Famous Five Barnet bloggers] and ppresentations [sic] were made by:

• Andrew Hume, lead Director of the Regeneration team at Jones Lang LaSalle
• Jon Rowney, Head of Fair Funding, London Councils
• Jonathan Guthrie, lead on Investment Promotion, City of Edinburgh Council
• Pierre-Emmanuel Noel,  Senior Loan Officer for UK public sector lending, The European Investment Bank
• David Rose, Vice President, Infrastructure Finance, RBC Capital Markets.

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Andrew Travers, London Borough of Barnet, opened the workshop with a succinct statement -

"The money has run out..."

"With central government funding for regeneration having virtually ceased, and the costs of borrowing from the Public Works and Loans Board rising significantly, London boroughs face increasing difficulty in securing finance to support large-scale economic development/regeneration.

Link to documents

"Nor is there any indication that government funding or capitalisation will return to previous levels within the foreseeable future, and, whilst there are important programmes and policies in the pipeline (New Homes Bonus, HRA self financing proposals, Business Rate retention, TIFs, etc.), boroughs will need to take a broad view, and it is clear that the private sector is going to play a much wider part in financing regeneration projects.

"The next question to be asked is whether the government and the boroughs are up to the challenge. [Especially in Barnet!] The government needs to give local authorities the freedoms and flexibilities to be innovative, and the boroughs must be ready to explore all options, including working collaboratively with the GLA and/or with subregional partners." [Don't expect help from Brent, Harrow, Camden, ... !]