Birmingham - 09.08.2023
In August we hosted our third and final roundtable in Birmingham alongside the West Midlands Combined Authority within which we built on many of the ideas shared in the first two sessions.
It was fantastic to hear from the Impact Investing Institute and Lloyds Banking Group who produced an important report, Building Strong Places, in 2021 outlining the importance of place-based development for regeneration going forward.
Attendees also discussed the significance of the West Midlands ‘Trailblazer’ devolution deal which will unlock more than £1Bn of public funding for the region to use thanks to the disposal of government-owned land, the creation of new levelling-up zones and retention of business rates.
Participants from the region, including the West Midlands Co-Investment Fund and Birmingham City Council also discussed the difficulties they face ensuring confidence in investment decisions when collaboration a between decisionmakers in central and local government alongside is often limited. Issues arising from linkage problems between decisionmakers on infrastructure projects can lead to a lack of visibility on public sector investments which can hamper regeneration plans, particularly when significant funds are in play.
A number of attendees also highlighted the importance of investors prioritising social outcomes whilst acknowledging that these outcomes are currently hard to define and therefore, often hard to deliver effectively. As meeting net-zero targets underpins both public and private sector investments, the need for regeneration projects to prioritise decarbonisation has presented both challenges and exciting opportunities for figures from throughout the investment cycle.
The PFC will be releasing their first report in November 2023, presenting some of the findings from our roundtables across the country. The report also presents an ‘investment map’ outlining new analysis of historic levels of investment in England to uncover disparities both between and within larger regions.
Email pfc@wpi-strategy.com for more information or if you would like to receive a copy of our first report to be released in November.
Birmingham Attendees
West Midlands Combined Authority: Ed Cox
West Midlands Co-Investment Fund: Rupert Lyle
Sustainability West Midlands: Beck Collins
Pinsent Masons: David Doogan
Impact Investing Institute: Mark Hall
Lloyds Banking Group: Christopher Sood-Nichols
ABI: Chris Rumsey
The Good Economy: Sam Monger
Birmingham City Council: Tara Verrell
ADEPT: Barry Wyatt
DLUHC: Ed Whiting
WPI Strategy: Ed Emerson and Jake Pennington
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