UK policy may prolong uncertainty in regeneration and commercial property markets

An article in Public Finance assesses the effect of the credit crunch on the UK's urban regeneration sector and how its effects may be mitigated by policy. The adverse extent of impacts on development, construction, housing and employment are only starting to emerge and could take a long time to improve.

Significant and wide ranging policy changes are recommended including changing the policy focus from growth to building resilience at a local level, re-prioritising resources, reconfiguring local business support strategies, developing the private rental (housing) sector, establishing city-regional Employment and Skills Boards, establishing city-regional governments, and making it easier for cities to borrow money for major economic infrastructure projects in city-regions.

Given the time taken to implement the Sub National Review and Business Support Simplification programmes to date such dramatic changes may be neither achievable nor desirable at a time of macro-economic uncertainty. Should we assume that all UK policies and agency configurations are inappropriate to the change in the economic cycle and should fundamental policy changes be considered in response to short term change?

And just as the economy and property markets turn down an article in Estates Gazette explains that the rateable value of commercial property will be reassessed in 2010 with the aim of redistributing the charges. The changes seem likely to effect local regeneration opportunities. The article assesses implications of the revaluation for the office market, the retail sector and industrial units and considers transition arrangements.

It concludes that any winners are likely to be industrial occupiers, particularly of distribution warehouses where rental growth has been at its lowest, while both the office and retail sectors will experience increases, long before they have recovered from the recession.

Weathering the storm (urban regeneration and the credit crunch), IN Public Finance, 20 Jun 2008, pp21-23

Along the spectrum (reassessment of commercial property rateable value), IN Estates Gazette, No 0823 14 Jun 2008, pp108-110