The director-general of the CBI John Cridland has stated business growth and local economies will only be boosted through the regeneration of commercial property areas.
Speaking at the Birmingham Made Me expo, Mr Cridland noted that both the private and public sectors must work together in order to develop regeneration schemes, rather than simply relying on public spending for development projects. Only then will private investors be more encouraged to place money on large corporate schemes.
Mr Cridland said: “Businesses are changing and so must the properties they occupy. With our supply of quality office space diminishing and the need to dramatically speed-up house building, regeneration is a high priority for business leaders I speak to in cities across the UK."
Examples of success stories were given, such as Media City UK in Salford, Manchester, whilst a £4.3 billion investment in office space has been injected in Leeds. Not only did both schemes boost employment in the local areas but it also meant that both cities' economic growth had gone beyond the national average.
When analysing the retail sector, Mr Cridland used the empty units as examples, reinforcing that businesses will need to work with local authorities so that town centres can become exciting and vibrant hubs again.
Through various governmental initiatives, such as the Funding for Lending scheme which was launched last August, there is now a wider availability of mortgages for businesses to rent out commercial property, but there is seemingly a short supply, especially in the large UK cities.The coalition will therefore have to work with both national and lcoal companies in order to figure out solutions for this problem.
Mr Cridland concluded: “There is huge potential for our major cities outside London to contribute far more than they do already. But without regeneration, they will continue to punch below their weight.”