Lichfields: Moving on up? Levelling-up town centres across Northern England
A new report prepared by Developing Consensus’ member, Lichfields, has identified the ‘innovative strategies’ Northern towns can draw upon, in order to revive struggling town centres. The study, titled 'Moving on up? Levelling-up town centres across Northern England',...
Bradley Hall – How can the North East Level Up?
As part of our levelling up series, we’ve been asking members to share their thoughts on levelling up, how they define the term and also what the region’s first steps should be in order to level-up. Neil Hart, Group Managing Director of Bradley Hall answers below...
Ward Hadaway – How can the North East Level Up?
As part of our levelling up series, we've been asking members to share their thoughts on levelling up, how they define the term and also what the region's first steps should be in order to level-up. Lesley Fairclough, Nick Gholkar and Alistair McDonald shared their...
Member Question – What investment do you think is needed for the North East to level up?
This month, The Journal reported that not one single area of the North East was listed in the top 150 prosperous areas in the country, indicating that there is a long way to go in terms of levelling up. With this in mind, we asked members: What investment do you think...
Experiential planning is the key to the future of our town and city centres
Covid-19 has not only accelerated the decline of our highstreets, but encouraged traditional consumers to switch and favour online shopping. To prevent further damage and stimulate the growth of our town and city centres, Jonathan Wallace, Senior Director and Head of...
Developing Consensus calls for NELEP Investment Fund to be made a key priority
Developing Consensus members have welcomed plans for the NELEP Investment Fund and urged its launch to be made a priority. The fund, which is currently at the consultation stage, aims to support partnerships between the public and private sectors, with a focus on...
Going green could support and drive job numbers in the region
Developing Consensus is calling for the property and development sector to support the North East England Climate Coalition and drive forward green and sustainable jobs. The coalition, which is currently hosted by Voluntary Organisations’ Network North East (VONNE),...
Developing Consensus backs North East England Freeport Bid
Developing Consensus has joined a consortium of 44 businesses and organisations to show support for the North East England Freeport bid, signing a letter of universal support to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. Below is a full copy of the letter together...
Further infrastructure commitments are needed to maximise the potential of North East Freeports
North East membership organisation Developing Consensus is calling for significant infrastructure upgrades to be incorporated into the region’s Freeport plans. The group of over 120 organisations operating in the property and development sector, has welcomed the plans...
NE Freeport Bid – Letter of Support from Developing Consensus
Developing Consensus has provided a letter of support for the North East Freeport bid submission. To read and download the letter, click here: Freeport bid - DC letter of support To read more about the North East Freeport bid, click here: North East LEP Free Trade...
North East business community comes together to reimagine the future of the economy
More than 200 North East businesses came together to hear about the region’s response to coronavirus at a virtual conference. The conference, run by public and private sector partnership NewcastleGateshead Initiative (NGI), saw business leaders from the region talk...
DC Views: What should be the key priorities for the North East in the property and development sector in 2021?
"Nerve is key in 2021 for Newcastle property. The office isn’t dead. The city lives strong. The pandemic has shown us new ways and proved we can rapidly adapt. So, take confidence in all the predictions of rapid rebound from the former strong economy - and invest in...
Getting the numbers all wrong?
A blog by Mark Ketley, Director of BH Planning and Design Following the introduction of a raft of changes to permitted development legislation last year aimed at keeping the economy moving during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government published two consultation...
Christmas Update from Developing Consensus
As another year draws to a close, I trust you and your teams are fit, well and looking forward to a well deserved Christmas break. Every single one of our members, whether as a company or individual, will have been affected by their own challenges as a result of the...
The North East must see its economic recovery as a commercial opportunity
Developing Consensus is calling for the region to focus on presenting itself on a national and global scale as businesses look to relocate following Covid. Over the last few months, people have embraced digital technology with 96.3%[1] of UK workers surveyed revealing...
Big boxes bring big opportunities
Article written by Keith Taylor, Managing Director of UK Land Estates OUR SHOPPING habits are changing, and with them the landscape around us. Big warehouses, logistics centres and distribution hubs are in demand by the retailers that are expanding with this rapidly...
Developing Consensus’ Response to the Planning for the Future White Paper Consultation
Prepared by the Developing Consensus Planning Group, click the link below to download the group's formal response. Developing Consensus White Paper Representations
DC Members respond to Pandemic Planning Processes
This month we asked members: Are there any practices that planning authorities have developed during the pandemic to help speed up/support the processing of applications that should be kept and can you give an example of how these have improved the planning process?...
More must be done to recover city footfall
Figures from Urban Observatory have revealed that Newcastle city centre footfall is still over 50% lower than figures recorded before the pandemic. Footfall pre-local lockdown through the city centre in August reached just under 2.5m people, a stark contrast to the...
Is the Government’s White Paper really ‘Planning for the Future’?
Written by Helen Marks, Planning Consultant at youngs RPS The Government released its long-awaited Planning White Paper, ‘Planning for the Future’ in August this year. Whilst there has been plenty of issues to warrant media coverage in recent months, the White Paper...
We must continue work on Commercial and City Centre Connectivity
Significant investment in infrastructure and connectivity is taking place across the region to connect users to high-speed broadband. With work already in progress on CityFibre’s £50m investment project to upgrade the region to a full fibre network, Fergus Trim of...
Newcastle joins more than 100 leading cities in global Smart City Index
Newcastle has been added to a list of leading cities in the 2020 Smart City Index. Published by the IMD Smart City Observatory (SCO), this report ranks cities based on citizens’ perceptions and both economic and technological data. Citizens from more than 100 cities...
What do ‘modern’ working environments need to look like to attract people back into city centre offices?
According to data from Centre for Cities, Boris Johnson’s first request in July for workers to return to the office, especially in large cities, caused only an 1% increase in footfall the week following. https://lnkd.in/da7M9K8 Therefore, for this month’s member...
Developing Consensus calls for Development Corporations and Ambitious Regeneration
North East membership organisation Developing Consensus is calling for game-changing development projects and the formation of development corporations to transform and regenerate the regional economy. The group of over 100 private sector development professionals...