Go Big – Go Local: A New Deal for Levelling Up the United Kingdom, Background Report by Greengauge 21

The Required Revolution: Transforming the UK’s Transport Connectivity

This background report, published on Thursday 1 October 2020 alongside Go Big – Go Local: A New Deal for Levelling Up the United Kingdom, was prepared for the UK2070 Commission by Greengauge 21. This report sets out a pan-UK transport network, designed to respond to two overarching Government objectives: the aim of ‘levelling up’ the UK economy; and the need to achieve net zero carbon by 2050 – alongside the very different post COVID-19 world. Greengauge 21 have built upon their previous report for the UK2070 Commission by taking into account, even at this early stage of understanding, the possible medium/longer term consequences of the Coronavirus epidemic and also reflected upon – insofar as it makes a difference – the ending of the UK’s membership of the European Union.

The report draws particular attention to the above topics in relation to: creating a sustainable national transport network; analysing intercity travel; connecting city regions and studying the urban-rural continuum.

To read the report in full, please click here.

Go Big – Go Local: A New Deal for Levelling Up the United Kingdom, Background Report – UK2070 Futures, Post COVID Scenario Modelling

This background report, published on Thursday 1 October 2020 alongside Go Big – Go Local: A New Deal for Levelling Up the United Kingdom, was conducted for the UK2070 Commission by The University of Cambridge’s City and Transport Research Group. This post-COVID scenario modelling work aims to understand a wide spectrum of longer-term spatial development prospects that the UK is facing, and considers cogent strategic policy interventions amidst an unprecedented period of uncertainties.

The new scenario analyses set out in this report update its previous research for the UK2070 Commission, in order to:

• Test rates of recovery under far more challenging economic conditions – the scenarios tested include on the one hand, the possibility of protracted low growth over many years and on the other, a dynamic recovery that continuously builds its own momentum;
• Investigate the policy implications of ‘levelling-up’ across the UK in terms of the distribution of economic activities, jobs, housing, population, skills and infrastructure in real and physical geography;
• Test the roles of local improvements that are currently being made in a dynamic recovery;
• Test the effects of investments upon all communities, not just national capitals and big cities; and
• Take account of potentially changing business practices and leisure preferences.

To read the report in full, please click here.

UK2070 Commissioner publishes Think Piece entitled Moving Forward From Lockdown: Some Perspectives from Scotland and Wales

Despite the ongoing COVID 19 crisis and our resulting statement in response, the UK2070 Commission continues its series of Think Pieces by publishing further evidence submitted to the Commission. The second such think piece is by UK2070 Commissioner, Dr. Graeme Purves.

As an Assistant Chief Planner with the Scottish Government, Dr. Purves led the teams which prepared Scotland’s First and Second National Planning Frameworks, and played an active role in developing links between the Celtic and Baltic countries.  He recently advised the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee of the National Assembly for Wales on the Welsh Government’s draft National Development Framework.

Dr. Purves draws on his experience to consider some distinctive Scottish and Welsh dimensions to the issues addressed in The Final Report of the UK2070 Commission: Make No Little Plans – Acting At Scale For A Fairer And Stronger Future; and indicates how thinking has developed in the light of the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic since the Commission’s Final Report was published in February.

To read Dr. Purves’ report in full, please click here.

UK2070 Commission Final Report, Background Report – The Devo 3.0 Review

The Devo 3.0 Review: Laying The Foundations For More And Better Devolution – An Audit of Devolution Decision Makers’ and Opinion Formers’ Views for the UK2070 Commission

This background report, published on Thursday 27 February 2020 alongside The Final Report of the UK2070 Commission: Make No Little Plans – Acting At Scale For A Fairer And Stronger Future was conducted for the UK2070 Commission by Steve Barwick and Jack Hutchison of DevoConnect. DevoConnect were commissioned by the UK2070 Commission to undertake an audit of decision makers and opinion formers to review the strengths and weaknesses of the Metro Mayoral model of devolution, and to identify what in the long-term both more and better devolution may look like. Forty two individuals deemed by the authors to be central to the future of devolution – including Metro Mayors; local authority leaders; think tanks; advocacy groups; quangos and business associations as well as Parlaimentarians who have been particularly active on the issue – responded to a questionnaire. This report is a qualitative and quantitative summary of their responses.

The report names three key benefits being delivered by Metro Mayors – before going on to state four main weaknesses and ten consensus conclusions which emerged as potential principles that should inform the next wave of devolution – Devo 3.0.

To read the report in full, please click here.

UK2070 Commission Final Report, Background Report – Modelling a Pan-National UK Network

This background report, published on Thursday 27 February 2020 alongside The Final Report of the UK2070 Commission: Make No Little Plans – Acting At Scale For A Fairer And Stronger Future was prepared for the UK2070 Commission by David Simmonds Consultancy Limited. The report builds upon the Background Report published by Greengauge21 to identify the UK’s 2070 transport infrastructure requirements, and identifies three main areas of focus, at three different scales, for a potential UK Network. The first is the national-regional scale, improving links between cities/urban areas within the UK; the second is the regional-intraurban scale, improving links within urban areas; and the third is the regional-local scale, addressing those peripheral, ‘left-behind’ areas.

This report then adds to this by carrying out strategic what-if modelling work to forecast the potential impact of transformative changes to the UK’s transport network. The report focuses on modelling shrinking the UK, by way of improving transport links at the three levels described: shrinking East to West as HS2 has done North to South (Package A – ‘Improving Intercity Connectivity’); shrinking urban areas themselves to increase the gravitational pull towards them, from the surrounding area (Package B – ‘Improving Intraurban Mobility’); and moving peripheral areas closer to major centres of business and commerce (Package C – ‘Reconnecting Marginalised Communities’). These three packages are modelled separately to demonstrate the scale of the change brought about by each, and then as a combined package to demonstrate a possible effect of a pan-national UK Network.

To read the report in full, please click here.

UK2070 Commission Second Report, Background Report – Sharing The Uplift in Land Values

This report, published alongside The Second Report of the UK2070 Commission as a Background Report, is written by the Executive Director of the URBED Trust, Dr. Nicholas Falk, in partnership with the Town and Country Planning Association. The report, entitled Sharing the uplift in land values: A fairer system for funding growth and delivering housing growth, considers how we can use land reform to achieve a fairer society while also promoting local economic growth and a better environment.

The paper builds on a previous Think Piece written by Dr. Falk for the UK2070 Commission to consider the wider issues of land value taxation and the funding of the local infrastructure needed to double the rate of housebuilding in the United Kingdom. In turn, the report considers why towns and cities need to mobilise under-used land to make people better connected; to consider the relationship between land value and housing affordability and hence inclusive growth; to consider how local infrastructure can be funded to in turn provide new homes and lastly to consider how to develop strategic spatial plans in a manner that uses scarce resources better while also building the homes the UK needs.

To read this Background Report, please click here.

UK2070 Commission First Report, Background Report – Industrial Strategy & Industry 4.0: Structure, People and Place

Persistent social and economic inequalities across the United Kingdom need to be challenged. This need is heightened by the political and economic uncertainties brought about by Brexit and the global challenges of technological and climate change. This report by the Manchester Urban Institute, University of Manchester, highlights the importance of facing up to the radical changes in the shape of the economy. This report states that the current industrial revolution (Industry 4.0) is driven by the adoption of smart digital and cyber technologies. This requires a national spatial economic strategy if we are to harness the power of economic change to the benefit of all communities.

This report was submitted as a response to the UK2070 Commission’s Call for Evidence. It has informed the considerations of the UK2070 Commission, especially in the drafting of its First Report, and has subsequently been published as a Policy Report by the Manchester Urban Institute.

To read this Background Report in full, please click here.

UK2070 Commission First Report, Background Report – UK2070 Futures Technical Modelling

The purpose of the UK2070 Futures Study is to investigate distinct scenarios regarding three basic policy variables of spatial rebalancing and development, which are growth and change in jobs, supply and demand of housing and provision of transport infrastructure and services. The distinct scenarios are designed to explore a wide range of potential economic and demographic development trajectories that are cogent for policy purposes, so as to provide a context in which to examine the effectiveness of existing and potential options for intervention in a long-term policy programme.

This report is intended to support the UK2070 Commission in its deliberations on the options of policy interventions and prioritisation against a broad, strategic understanding of the major opportunities and challenges facing the UK.

To read this Background Report in full, please click here.