LDN Weekly – Issue 333 – 26 September 2024 – From Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street

FROM LIVERPOOL LIME STREET TO BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET

Dear Reader,

Flat. Wet. Dreary. It’s fair to say that party goers and the LCA team were not blessed by the Liverpudlian weather at this year’s Labour Conference.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why the mood felt slightly dampened this year, with the usual outside ‘corridor chats’ restricted to actual corridors across jampacked indoor arenas, hotel lobbies and bars.

But the reasons for the mood may run a bit deeper than that. A cloud had already overshadowed the 4-day festivities in the lead up, with the talk of Ministerial and Prime Ministerial freebies kicking off a bit of a storm, which saw the PM’s approval rating drop even lower than his predecessor, which was pretty low! It’s fair to say that the Government is experiencing a few teething problems.

So, conference was a time to reset and inject some much-needed positivity. Was the party able to do that?

One of the big messages to gee up the faithful was that this is a Government not only open to business, but unashamedly for it.

Property and the built environment took centre stage – I’ve personally never seen so many fringe events dedicated to the sector – Matthew Pennycook, the minister in charge, must have been the most mentioned in the fringe guide – alongside speeches from Starmer, Rayner and Reeves reiterating the importance of housing to the country’s growth prospects and filling the Government’s purse.

These unsurprisingly went down well with business representatives, although members might feel they are slowly becoming more marginalised.

However, despite Starmer’s final plea and promise that there is indeed ‘light at the end of tunnel’, I get the sense from many who I spoke with that there is a general lack of understanding of what the final destination at the end of that tunnel actually looks like. Here at LCA Towers, we’re eagerly anticipating the budget to see if that will shed any further light.

Talking about problems and resets…the Conservatives will be holding their first Conference in Birmingham since the General Election defeat.

While forecasts show the weather will hold (for at least some of it), we expect this one will be a more sombre affair. And in this week’s LDN, we take a look ahead to the Tories coming together in Birmingham.

The light at the end of this particular tunnel will be Rishi Sunak’s successor, confirmed on 2 November, with Conference offering an opportunity for the leadership hopefuls to covet support from the party faithful.

The runners and riders might well be rather geed up by Labour’s difficulties!

Jay Allan

Director - Politics, Engagement and Planning

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BANGERS AND CASH

Painting the town red – but for once it wasn’t down to the exploits of Liverpool FC, as Labour rocked up this week on the banks of the Mersey for their first party conference in power since Brighton in 2009. Labour was battered by bad weather, a slew of negative media stories and an unexpected sausage intervention. 

Judging the mood – Heading into the gathering, the party faithful were torn between a desire to celebrate July’s landslide win mixed with a growing unease at the Government’s missteps. None of this was helped by a 48-hour deluge drowning delegates – what the party claimed was the most attended conference ever became a squeeze to get out of the rain – the most valuable currency quickly becoming somewhere dry to sit.

Manic Sunday – Deputy PM and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner kicked things off on the Sunday with a speech to delegates.

That’s my fun day – Rayner rattled off a rollcall of announcements… Awaab’s Law first for the social rented sector in the autumn and then the private rental sector… a recommitment to reform leasehold and freehold… a new remediation action plan to accelerate removal of dangerous cladding from affected buildings.

And *breathe* – Sunday also saw the Government confirm the introduction of planning passports for brownfield sites, and a swathe of further devolution across the north of England. And on Tuesday, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband announced that landlords would be banned from renting homes that aren’t energy efficient.

Reminder – the NPPF consultation closed two days ago. Might we expect the Government’s response on Budget Day? One thing’s for sure, the Government is certainly not holding back on its planning interventions having approved plans for up to 1,000 homes in Cambridge just yesterday.

Eternal blame – Chancellor Rachel Reeves, in her keynote address on Monday, sought to inject some optimism into the gathered faithful. While repeating the standard lines – the difficult legacy inherited from the last government and the need to make tough choices – we did see a glimpse of a more positive vision for the future.

Taxing times – all eyes now shift to the Budget on 30 October – the Chancellor will be grateful to the OECD for providing Labour cover on increasing investment in infrastructure.

Pile-on to pylons – the pressure was on Keir Starmer, delivering the first speech at a party conference by a Labour Prime Minister since 2009, given recent political difficulties over donations and problems within his No 10 team. Starmer struck a defiant tone, reiterating the importance of facing down local opposition in building key infrastructure. Following the more positive tone struck by Reeves, the PM pointed to “light at the end of the tunnel” before warning that there’s still a tunnel to get through first.

Verdict – while not a sparkling speech, and perhaps a bit rambling in the first half, it probably just about did the job, despite a bizarre sausages gaffe. That being said, snap opinions on Starmer will be cause for concern for Labour.

Station to Station – Those travelling to and from Liverpool on a stuffy, unreliable and packed West Coast Mainline through a crowded, semi-building site Euston Station will have taken note of comments that Ministers must decide on what to do about HS2/Euston by the end of the year.  

Liverpool > New York – London Mayor Sadiq Khan was only fleetingly in Liverpool, before jetting off to New York to ‘bang the drum for London’. He’s come in for some flak from his Conservative opponents, with Assembly Member Neil Garratt claiming Khan has "nowhere to hide from his own record of failure".

West End swirls – In his absence, Khan’s recent surprise announcement over the pedestrianisation of Oxford Street generated considerable chatter in the sidelines of conference, fuelled no doubt by Westminster Labour by-election’s loss in the West End just last Thursday.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Hot topic – With the built environment being very much front and centre of the Government’s policy agenda, it’s unsurprising to see several interesting items of research and polling published in recent weeks.

YIMBYs - Research by Commonplace, commissioned by Berkeley Group, British Land and Landsec, looked into attitudes of people in urban areas to development on brownfield land. Almost four out of five said that the regeneration of brownfield land that had been previously developed could either have a ‘positive’ or ‘very positive’ impact on their local area. The report concludes that brownfield urban regeneration will be ‘the most sustainable and efficient way’ for the Government to meet their housing delivery targets.

Get Britain building - The Fabian Society Local Government and Housing Member Policy Group has published a report, in partnership with Weston Homes, looking at how the Government can, to borrow a much-used phase, ‘get Britain building’. Recommendations include more support for SME builders, as well as a range of reforms to alleviate the housing crisis including new partnership models for temporary accommodation provision and the greater devolution of planning powers.

Affordability of affordable housing - Research by the G15 group of housing associations highlighted the issues in delivering affordable housing. Most astonishing of all, the G15 estimate the cost of building a single affordable home in the capital to be around £450,000. If London is to meet demand for affordable housing, the city needs £4.9bn per year in total between 2023/24 and 2027/28.

• Plans by the All England Lawn Tennis Club for the expansion of Wimbledon are recommended for approval by planning officers. The proposals, which include the delivery of 39 new tennis courts and an 8,000-seat show court, were previously approved by Merton Council but rejected by neighbouring Wandsworth Council. The plans were then called-in by the GLA and a public hearing will take place on Friday 27 September, with Deputy Mayor for Planning Jules Pipe set to make a decision on the plans. While plans have been recommended for approval by officers, not everyone is happy about it.
  
  
• The public hearing for the Springfield Hospital redevelopment plans in Wandsworth will be at City Hall on 8 October. The project, which represents the final phase of re-developing the land around Springfield Hospital, saw permission rejected by Wandsworth Council in March. While 839 new homes have already been approved on the site, developers Barratt London and STEP are requesting planning permission to increase the total to 1,288. Of these 449 extra new homes, 220 will be affordable.
  
  
• Plans by real estate developer Firethorn Trust for the conversion of a four-storey neo-classical building in Pimlico from office space to residential accommodation has been granted planning permission by Westminster City Council. The aim is to create a ‘modern and sustainable’ residential development, with work expected to start in early 2025 and completion due in 2026.
  
  
• Following the granting of planning permission for the redevelopment of One Museum Street off High Holborn, BC Partners are seeking a joint venture investment partner to co-develop the building. The mixed-use development will feature 44 new homes (19 of which will be affordable), office space, and retail space.
  
  
• Places for London has selected Fastned as the preferred partner for the development of several new electric vehicle ultra-rapid charging hubs across its estate. First of the five initial ultra-rapid charging hubs will be delivered across London from 2026, with at least a further 25 sites in total planned in future years.

• Brent East MP Dawn Butler has been elected the chair of the London group of Labour MPs.
  
  
• LondonMetric Property has appointed Darren Richards from British Land to the newly created role of Chief Investment Officer where he will oversee the organisation’s growing property portfolio.
  
  
• Knight Frank has appointed Nick Blevins from Cushman & Wakefield as the company’s new head of life sciences and innovation agency.

CONFERENCE AT A CROSSROADS

Turning tides – after 14 years in power, the Conservative Party is preparing for its first conference in opposition, following a disastrous electoral defeat. LCA’s Insight Executive Ben Donson gives his thoughts here.

Mood matters - the conference atmosphere as the party faithful gather in Birmingham is likely to be sombre, with the party struggling to sell business seats and attract lobbyists, in stark contrast to Labour’s sold-out events.

Internal introspection- this isn’t surprising, given this year’s conference will primarily focus on internal party matters, with policy discussions taking a back seat until a new leader is chosen.

Leadership limbo - all eyes are on selecting a new party leader, with four contenders vying for the position: Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick, James Cleverly, and Tom Tugendhat. The Spectator, fresh from former Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove announced as the new editor, has interviewed the four.

Selection process - Conservative MPs will narrow the field to two candidates after conference, who will then face a vote by party members. The final result will be announced on 2 November.

Key concerns - immigration and tax and spend are expected to dominate the leadership campaign, as candidates attempt to win back voters lost to the Reform Party.

Built environment backdrop - while not expected to dominate the leadership contest, it will be interesting to see what the candidates say about the environment as they lay out a vision for the party’s future.

Housing hopes – as a reminder, the Conservatives’ previous pledge to build 1.6 million homes was actually 100,000 more than Labour’s target. Will the new leader be able to unite the party on housing policy, avoiding past pitfalls like the 2022 rebellion over compulsory housebuilding targets? One thing is for sure, this matters for voters, with housing a top concern for 22% of Britons and strong support for new builds.

London at Conference – the issue of housing is particularly acute in London and as the party rebuilds in the capital after two bruising election defeats in the space of a few months, it is timely that ConservativeHome is hosting a fringe meeting on how to bounce back in the city on Sunday at 2:30pm.

WE RECOMMEND

• The London Property Alliance’s tenth Global Cities Survey – while London’s performance is mixed, Paris has experienced an Olympics boost.
• How Slough became a hotspot for first-time buyers.
• The London Museum Docklands’ exhibition dedicated to mudlarking.
• The ‘world’s weirdest library’ throws open its doors in London.
• George Osborne questions whether Rachel Reeves really cares about London.

LCA AT LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE 2024

What an incredible week for LCA at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool!

On Sunday night, Opportunity London hosted its annual dinner, in partnership with LCA and sponsored by Arup. We were delighted to have James Murray MP, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, Howard Dawber, London’s Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth and Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, join us as speakers.

We were joined by senior figures from Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Camden, Hounslow, Merton, Southwark, Wandsworth, Westminster and Greenwich, as well as the mayors of Lewisham and Newham. Also in attendance were senior industry leaders that make and shape our built environment.

On Monday, LCA hosted our annual drinks reception, bringing together over 100 guests including MPs,  senior leaders from across London boroughs and the London Assembly, along with our clients and associates for a drink (or two).

 LCA AT LREF  

This year, we brought our biggest team to date – 12 to be exact - to LREF.

With over 2,000 leaders from the worlds of government, investment, and development, this year’s LREF took place at the Guildhall under the theme Reimagine: reimaging what our sector and society can and should be following recent uncertainty and a year of political change.

Our Partner and Senior Advisor Robert Gordon Clark chaired two sessions – first, an exclusive roundtable discussing the Great Estates and the role Business Improvement Districts can play in London, and, second, a panel discussion on the Old Oak and Park Royal Development, discussing the building blocks to create a lasting economic and social legacy.

LCA Director Harriet Shone also chaired a key panel discussion with Transport for London, Central London Forward, Southwark Council, and Lewisham Council exploring the Bakerloo Line Upgrade and Extension, what it will deliver, and why you should ‘Back the Bakerloo’.

We are proud to share our voices to help shape our cities' future and promote the real estate's role in London society – bring on LREF 2025!

OPPORTUNITY LONDON INVESTMENT SUMMIT

Over 300 leading global investors and London borough leaders gathered on the morning of LREF at the Opportunity London Investment Summit to hear about London’s next ‘mega projects’ and call on the UK government to support critical development opportunities. Secured by LCA, London’s £10.6bn investible opportunities revealed in Opportunity London’s new Investment Prospectus, appeared in CityAM here and online at CNBC. Opportunity London’s full investment prospectus can be found here.

LDN CONTRIBUTORS 

LCA prides itself on its intelligence-led approach to PR and communications and our dedicated insight team monitors London politics, news and issues as it happens.

If you would like to know more about LCA or anything in this edition of LDN – London in short please get in touch. 

Nick Bowes

Managing Director, Insight

Robert Gordon Clark

Senior Advisor and Partner

Emily Clinton

Account Manager, Insight 

 Ben Donson

Insight Executive

Design:  Aroa Maquedano Pulido:

We strive for balance and accuracy at all times; however, if you feel we have made a mistake, omission or have misrepresented a story or issue please alert the team by contacting the LDN team by using the details above.

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