Cities for all

Rowena Morris:

Welcome to the latest episode of our Business in Focus podcast. I am Rowena Morris and I am your host for this episode. Today, we're going to be looking at how businesses can work alongside local government and other public services to create places across the UK that support economic growth, wellbeing and sustainable futures for all. Our 10th annual good growth for cities report follows the launch of the government's levelling up white paper, both reflect a step change from the immediate concerns of the pandemic to focus on what comes next. The past two years have reset what many of us prioritise around both our work and finances, leading to a change in how cities rank in our index. With traditional cities such as London, no longer the sole engines of growth, how can those based elsewhere take advantage? One thing is clear, this isn't a one size fits all strategy. Today, we are going to be exploring the importance of local empowerment and how purpose and inclusion generates pride in where we live and where we work.

Joining me today in our virtual studio to talk through the findings of our good growth for cities index is Karen Finlayson, PwC partner and our lead on the report; and bringing to life what this looks like on a local level is John Walsh, director of legal and civic services at Belfast city council. Thanks very much both for coming along and talking to us today. Shall we kick off with some introductions, and Karen if I come to you first?

Karen Finlayson:

Hi, Rowena and it's great to be here today. As you said, I'm Karen Finlayson, I'm the lead partner for this report on good growth for cities, and I'm also the region's lead for government and health industries. Again, really excited about being here today.

Rowena:

Brilliant to have you here with us and can we get a quick intro from you as well, John?

John Walsh:

John Walsh, director of legal and civic services, very pleased to join you on this podcast today and to have this opportunity to give you some of our experiences in terms of where we've landed in terms of promoting growth in our city.

Rowena:

Brilliant and looking forward to getting into some of the details around what's been happening in Belfast, but first, let's start with the big picture. Karen, can you talk our audience through some of the main headlines from our good growth for cities report, and also what's changed as a result of the pandemic?

Karen:

I’d be delighted to. An important point before we get into some of the findings, we did a refresh on the indices and the criteria for this year. We worked with Demos on the refresh of the index based on a rigorous analysis of the public priorities on the places of where they want to live. We identified some new indicators for good growth, such as safety and health of the high street, and some other factors that have shifted in priority for the public. It's not just about high wages, but it's also about fairness and income distribution, and also the environment in the place that they live, but despite the changes in the index, there are some things that we've seen before, and the southern cities still dominate the good growth index. It's clear there's still a regional divide between the North and the South, and it's a reality that we just can't ignore any longer. The government's levelling up white paper was a welcome acknowledgement of this long-term and incredibly complex problem, but we've really been presented with a golden opportunity to have a big reset and, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to accelerate the levelling up agenda. We need to capitalise on encouraging growth, where we are already seeing outside of some of the largest cities, and also make sure that we continue to focus on things like wellbeing and fairness, because there has been an increased priority in those areas, but like I say it's a small window of opportunity before we start drifting back into the status quo. It's important as well, that it's a moment for when central government, local government and businesses can all come together to develop localised plans in addressing not only the regional inequalities, but also the societal gaps that also exist within the cities, towns and communities. It's been really great to see through some of the case studies, in particular, we put a spotlight on Belfast, which I know John is keen to share some of those experiences with us.

John:

It's fantastic to see Belfast doing so well in terms of the index, I have to say. It gives us a real credible marker as to where we are in terms of our policies and plans for the city going forward. I have to say, it's even more positive in the context of coming out of the pandemic and our plans for recovery for the city. We have looked at this in terms of the city from a whole ecosystem approach, where the sense of place is as important as anything else. Creating the city that's clean, green and safe, with improved connectivity, accelerating our ambitions around city centre living where, unlike other cities, Belfast hasn't had people living in the city centre for all sorts of unfortunate reasons linked to our previous conflict. Those opportunities that have come in terms of bringing that together, and really in terms of that vision for the city, that has had a lot of buy in from the public and from business, because they see it as a way forward in terms of the future growth and prosperity of a city that was, let's not forget it once upon a time and the largest city on the island of Ireland.

All of that coupled with our cultural vibrancy, and the fact that we are a compact city, which is easy to navigate, that we have a highly skilled workforce, and that we have ambitions around being innovative and creating creative clusters within the city. All of these things come together, and they do create an energy about this place that you can see, and feel, and taste. That ambition going forward is something that we are harnessing in terms of our opportunities for growth. For me, we are now at a time that's pivotal in terms of that growth, a real time of opportunity, a real time that's been presented in terms of that opportunity through Brexit, where we have obviously unfettered access to the market.

Our vision for Belfast has never fundamentally changed since we launched our Belfast agenda, which was our community plan. A city reimagined, a city resurgent, a great place to work and live. It includes enabling access to opportunity underpinned by inclusive growth for Belfast, to be a city where everyone benefits from a thriving and prosperous economy, that is vibrant and attractive, connected and environmentally sustainable, everyone experiences good health and wellbeing, and where everyone fulfils their potential. That involves, obviously, a whole range of different people, institutions and bringing them all together, but all these plans if they are to work, it must have real reach into our communities. Inclusive growth isn't just about trickle-down economics, it's about actually getting out there, and upskilling, and changing horizons for people to come into areas of employment, where they would not have had those aspirations in the past.

Rowena:

It's really great to hear you bring that vision to life, John, and good that you mentioned that inclusion point as well. It's fair to say, in terms of sometimes the vision that we hear for our future growth, inclusion, and the need to not overlook any parts of the community in those growth plans are common refrains, but I sense that there is a wealth of details sitting under those high level goals. I was interested in how you, at local level, go about turning these headline aims into meaningful action.

John:

You have to create a vision here, Rowena, and that has to be a bit of a call to arms and you need to have a covenant with your public, but our ambition has always been about creating a signature city. We have a unique location sitting cheek by jowl with a river and the coast, and we have hills, all of that beautiful geography around the city is something that needs to be brought in to help create that whole city ecosystem. It's about creating a place where people actually want to live. It's not just about looking at these things separately, everything has to interact and come together in a way that joins up. We have been quite deliberate about trying to design our ambition and our future vision of the city in a way that ensures that we create that whole city ecosystem. We lose about 28% third level students every year, and they're exported to the rest of the UK. We need to be in a position whereby we can retain that talent for the future, and we need to be in a position whereby we create a city that will attract talent in. All of this investment and all of the work that we are undertaking in terms of what it is that we are trying to achieve in the city has all of those things as a focus. If you take the Belfast city region deal that will generate 1 billion of investment into our city, we are looking at that as a route, it's an opportunity to grow different things. It was not just about investment, it's about what that investment can bring, it's about growth beyond investment. All of those projects that we have, they are all specifically designed. We work together with business, together with our education establishments, and try to ensure that all of these things come together, and the confluence of opportunity is something that can be enjoyed by everybody.

Karen:

I certainly enjoy Belfast, John, it is one of my favourite locations and I was there last November. It's just such a vibrant city, some great pubs, some great restaurants, so a great place to visit. Really pleased that you've also talked through some of the initiatives in how you've actually achieved that growth. Also, it's good to see that you've performed well in the index this year, 11 out of 13, it's the highest non-English city, so that's just great. The results as well though, aren't only due to the economic equality indicators of the things like house prices and income distribution, but also, we've noticed that work life balance has a massive impact and factor on where people want to live.

Rowena:

I completely echo all of that, Karen, and the passion and pride, John, that you take in Belfast really shines through. It's great to hear about all of the change that you've seen and how businesses are working with you over the last few years. You've also already mentioned some of the ambitious plans for growth and levelling up. Given our audience, I was really keen to draw out the focus of what role businesses can play in these aims as well?

John:

Well, it's very important that business has endorsed our vision for the city and it's really embraced what the city can look like in the future. Also, embraced the fact that it is a city that needs to attract and retain its talent, but it's not just going to stop there, of course, in terms of where the organisations are at in terms of the Belfast region city deal, and indeed with all the other opportunities that are likely to come. I have referred to that as a route. That is a route for growing opportunity, and then the whole city ecosystem. It is important that we create pipelines of employment, and opportunity for those employers to take advantage of. We will be working with business, we're identifying clusters of complementarity, and we're linking those two skills and employability pipelines. The projects that we have, for example, in terms of city deal, aren’t just about city deal itself, it's about growth beyond that investment. We are creating Belfast stories, which is going to be a signature regeneration tourism product. It will be designed to attract more dwell time in the city, yes, but it will also act as a concierge, encouraging visitors to get out and go under the city skin. Digital twin, we're developing a digital testbed for the development of product, reducing development time and getting product to the market faster. Obviously, that will have great benefit in terms of existing businesses. Really, through city deal and other opportunities that we have, and throwing my arms open to businesses saying ‘come and engage with us, and come and grow your business alongside the business that are here, and look to the strengths that we have, and let's look to scale these, and make these opportunities bigger in the future.’

Business has a huge opportunity here. It's all about collaborative working, all about working with government, working with the anchor institutions, the educational authorities, and business, and all of those other sectoral interests in city to ensure that we create a city that is a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to visit, and more importantly, a great place to invest in.

Karen:

Yeah, and I agree with that as well, John. There's a huge opportunity for business and I know, for PwC we've invested in the city, and we've got our second largest office in Belfast, which is again, like I said, a great place. Also, there's a huge role for business in terms of creating that ecosystem with education providers, as you talked earlier about universities, and providing different routes to gain skills, such as mentoring apprenticeships and sponsorship of talent, but I also think, Belfast is an interesting case, because you’ve been exporting talent to the rest of the UK for years, and further beyond just the UK. Its great that the changing face of Belfast is encouraging people to stay and invest in Belfast, and obviously bring in tourism into Belfast too, which is again a fantastic opportunity to grow as a city.

Rowena:

We've touched on this a little bit just through that last bit of conversation, but we always like to leave our listeners with a tip or top piece of advice that they can put into action straightaway. John, you've really brought to life what can be achieved by working in collaboration and in partnership across both local authorities, government, education, and private business. How can others who maybe didn't have the same model as you in Belfast start that journey, and what would be your recommendations?

John:

Look at your city afresh, look at where your city’s strengths lie, look at what it is that you have in terms of the physical environment in terms of the city, and try to focus on bringing a lens to that, that will allow you to see the city in a way that captivates the people who already live there, but attracts the people who may want to live in that type of new city and with the right right employment opportunities looking at in a whole city way.

Rowena:

I really like that, and Karen, what advice would you give to add to that?

Karen:

I completely echo John's advice and comments there. It's really important for the place that you live getting involved with their ambitions, and their plans and to help at a local level and look what you can do to also support and attract and develop the talents and opportunities in your place.

Rowena:

Brilliant, and that's a great note to end on. Thank you both very much for being such excellent guests and sharing some fascinating and personal insights on the topic. You can explore more on the report findings by visiting our website and searching for good growth for cities. Please subscribe to keep up to date with all of our latest episodes. Thanks everyone. See you next time.

Participants

• Rowena Morris
• Karen Finlayson
• John Walsh