NEWS NADIA ELGHAMRY
Northern leaders have sounded a warning bell on devolution mania, urging caution over asking government for too much autonomy. Speaking at MIPIM UK on Wednesday under the banner of “the interconnected North”, James Newman, chairman of Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, warned: “Be careful what you wish for.” He said: “We may wish to have some income-
raising [powers], but it needs to be very carefully thought through. Devolution comes with responsibility and we don’t want govern- ment to wash their hands of us completely.” Newman warned that devolution and
decentralisation were being seen as the same thing – which they weren’t.
Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester city council
D 009AY 3 NORTH CAUTIOUS ON DEVOLUTION
Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester city council, claiming the Whitehall model was bust. He said: “We need to have the ability to
remediate land and pass it on to the private sector; we have not got the resource and inter- vention capabilities at the moment.” Pointing to the debate over the cost of HS2,
“Decentralisation gives us the money but
then we have to jump to their tune and account for every single penny. Devolution says: here is an appropriate amount of money for the things you want to deliver,” he said. Tensions between central government and the northern cities ran high, with Sir Howard
OVERSEAS INVESTORS TO BUY MORE INUK
There is “no reason” overseas investment into UK property could not reach 50%, according to British Land chief executive Chris Grigg (left). Speaking at MIPIM UK on Thursday, Grigg said that as foreign invest- ment into London and the regions increased, the percentage could rise from its current level of 22% to 50%. “Globalisation always brings more competition and added pressure to the domestic market,” warned Grigg. “And as overseas investors get more sophisticated here in the UK, which they will, that will increase.
If you are an inefficient domestic company in a fast-globalising market, make sure your mortgage is paid off.” Nick Preston, managing director of Grosvenor Fund Management, said it was Ameri-
can rather than Asian investors dominating the UK market, while Jose Pellicer, head of research at Rockspring, argued that the slowdown in China remained a key threat. He said: “China is a locomotive [of an economy]. And when a locomotive slows down it takes everyone else down with it.”
SNAPPED ATMIPIMUK
Bernstein added: “I don’t remember a debate happening when we spent £20bn on Crossrail; there is a debate on costs only when it is out- side London or the South East.” His anger was echoed by Roger Marsh,
chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partner- ship, who said true devolution was about the ability to raise funds and create money, “not figuring out what do with the money someone had afforded you the luxury of spending”.
BUILDERS GET ASHFORDYES
Barratt, Ward Homes, Jarvis, Pentland and Hodson Developments were celebrating yes- terday, after getting the nod to build 5,750 homes at Ashford in Kent. The plans for the £1.5bn Chilmington Green project will deliver 300 homes a year over the next 20 years. Andrew Osborne, Ashford borough council’s
economic development manager, said that housing values in Ashford had increased by 15% in the past year and that the new homes at Chilmington Green would “create supply and help keep house prices in Ashford at a reasonable level”.
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