Miranda Barker Chief executive
@elancschamber
chamberelancs.co.uk
LESS BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, WE NEED MORE #GREENTECHEQUITY
East Lancashire Chamber’s delegation of leading low carbon tech firms returned home from Glasgow invigorated and driven to call for Boris Johnson’s government to finally step up to the challenge.
Talbot Gateway vision KEEPING THINGS CIVIL
More than 3,000 civil servants are to be relocated to a new £100m office development in Blackpool town centre following a “historic” deal for the resort.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has come to an agreement with Blackpool Council and its partner Muse Developments to develop a new regional hub in Talbot Gateway.
The £350m Talbot Gateway scheme is creating a new central business district and civic quarter in the resort.
The DWP agreement will see staff from its two present operations on the Fylde coast move into the new hub when it is completed in autumn 2024.
The DWP has signed a 25-year lease to occupy the purpose-built offices as part of a strategic plan to centralise civil service jobs in the heart of the town.
Blackpool Council has been negotiating this deal for several years as part of its ambition to rejuvenate the town centre through high- quality office developments.
Mike Horner, development director at regeneration experts Muse, said: “This is a resounding endorsement of our collective commitment to bringing forward developments that offer tangible environmental and social outputs to benefit local communities.
“We’ve got some real forward momentum here at Talbot Gateway, as we work hard to build back better and further drive inward investment and opportunities right into the heart of the town.”
Thérèse Coffey, secretary of state for work and pensions, said: “Moving more than 3,000 DWP staff into this state-of-the art- sustainable building in Talbot Gateway will drive footfall in the town centre and support Blackpool’s economic growth as the country builds back better from the pandemic.”
Council leader Lynn Williams described the agreement as “a historic moment” in the ongoing regeneration of the town centre.
She said: “We have been working on plans with our partners Muse to introduce a new Fylde Coast Civil Service Hub for several years and we are thrilled that DWP share our vision and are committed to this long- term investment.
Moving more than 3,000 DWP staff into this state-of-the art- sustainable building in Talbot Gateway will drive footfall in the town centre
“The relocation of just over 3,000 DWP employees will bring considerably more footfall into the area, with a massive boost to local businesses, retailers, restaurants, cafes and leisure facilities, but also bringing new, high quality job opportunities for local residents.”
The seven-storey office on King Street, within walking distance of a new tram interchange at Blackpool North Station, will be the third phase of the Talbot Gateway regeneration scheme.
The offices will be located in a new leafy town centre square with new cycle and pedestrian routes, with storage for over 100 bicycles to encourage cycling to work. The offices will be within walking distance of a new tram interchange at Blackpool North Station.
LANCASHIREBUSINESSVIEW.CO.UK
Clear asks were distilled from the two weeks of rhetoric: actions to drive low carbon tech adoption; to make it realistically possible for all our SMEs and householders; and to drive the global move to net zero using our own Lancsashire low carbon innovation.
Primarily, Boris and his team must urgently make policy changes so low carbon tech is at the heart of daily contract life for our industries - firm requirements in every planning consent, every public sector procurement, landfill taxation that has a real effect, minimum recycled percentage of materials in every new product and foresight on what carbon taxation may come in the future to allow businesses to really prepare.
But to enable our SMEs, our sole traders and our residents to buy in (literally) to these new technologies we have to see real and trustworthy green financing schemes. So many seem to be out there now, subsiding your heat pump purchase over so many years - blah blah blah as Greta would say!
Government must ratify these schemes and make sure the public has real confidence to use them, or we will never see the adoption at pace we need.
Finally - if we want the world to really move toward net zero, just like we’ve supported the developing nations with #VaccineEquity and given them the vaccine supplies so very needed, we’re going to need to GIVE those countries in need those green tech innovations to help them steer away from coal and gas before they’ve really started.
These are the very technology solutions Lancashire is so very good at innovating - let’s make them here and sell them to the rest. Then see our governments make sure they go where they’re needed - for us all.
#GreenTechEquity - it’s the only way! Find out more at...
m.barker@
chamberelancs.co.uk www.chamberlowcarbon.co.uk https://youtu.be/gVTZOi6d1cc
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