Jobs so important to regeneration plans

Jan 28 2009 by Victoria Elmore, Birmingham Post

Regeneration should be about more than just bricks and mortar, according to a new report by a government development group.

The All Party Urban Development Group, which is backed by Birmingham City Council, said planning contracts for new developments should put local employment first and make sure new projects create local jobs.

The West Midlands saw unemployment rise by 10.3 per cent in the three months to December 2008, with nearly seven per cent of the population now out of work. The cross-party group of MPs and peers wants planners to use section 106 agreements with developers to ensure that locals benefit fully from regeneration with jobs staying in the area.

Clive Betts MP, chairman of the All Party Urban Development Group, said: “It is crucial that during these difficult economic times, councils and businesses do everything they can to protect jobs for local people.”

Waheed Nazir, assistant director of regeneration, Birmingham City Council, said: “Our experience has been around making the offer make business sense, rather than trying to force the developer to recruit locally.”

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said: “Making use of the opportunities afforded by new development will be particularly vital during the challenging economic climate that councils face.

“Firms may be cutting back in the short term, but by engaging more closely with developers, councils can help ensure we have a better skilled workforce in the future.”

Construction has fallen off dramatically over the last year, with the Local Government Association predicting that one in five construction workers could be redundant by 2011.

James Leaver, partner for Knight Frank’s Birmingham team, added: “The public sector is able to innovate more readily than the private sector simply because it can afford to.”