Key Cities and Core Cities UK have published a new ‘inclusive renewal deal’ to level up the country and help cities recover from ‘Zoomshock’.
The framework has been outlined in a new report – The Future of Urban Centres – commissioned from independent consultancy Metro Dynamics, which reveals the staggering impact of Covid-19 on the UK’s urban centres and calls for new powers to boost post-pandemic economic recovery.
The report outlines how cities have lost a combined 229,000 workers to rural areas during the pandemic, but remain best placed to drive recovery: if Key Cities and Core Cities UK matched national averages, 3.3 million fewer people would be living in deprivation and the national economy would be £89bn larger thanks to increased productivity.
Following the government’s recent announcement that Neil O’Brien MP has been appointed as chief adviser on levelling up to add clarity and substance to the policy, this research highlights the need for urgent action to address the challenge of the UK’s widening inequalities.
The inclusive renewal deal calls for greater collaboration between cities and government in order to tackle the urgent crises of job losses, economic inequality and climate emergency.
The recommendations include:
- The devolution and levelling up white paper should support new powers for cities and outline a process for further devolution and city deals that can enable cities to lead renewal
- Government should work with cities on a new series of recovery, levelling up and renewal deals that set out strategic place plans, with funding and joint delivery arrangements
- Skills and training initiatives such as the Kickstart and Enterprise Allowance programmes should be expanded and devolved to cities to support job creation and upskill communities
- Housing and regeneration funding should be linked and Homes England’s remit broadened to include regeneration.
The report and recommendations are based on independent research undertaken by Metro Dynamics, which highlights how cities have been disproportionately affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Due to the effects of ‘Zoomshock’, urban centres have been hollowed out as people shifted to homeworking in more suburban areas en masse.
In the past year, Key Cities and Core Cities UK combined have seen a combined net loss of 229,000 workers, creating significant implications for businesses located in these areas and exacerbating existing inequalities across neighbourhoods.
However, cities are resilient and there is a significant opportunity for them to drive an inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery.
Key Cities and Core Cities UK argue that this can only be achieved through partnership at the city level with local people, local businesses, anchor institutions and investors, and at national level between the Government and city leadership.
‘If we want cities to drive recovery, we must listen directly to those who run and represent those places, who are closest to the lived experiences of residents and aware of the obstacles and opportunities for progress,’ said Newcastle City Council leader and chair of Core Cities UK, Cllr Nick Forbes.
‘The inclusive renewal deal in our report sets out in practical terms how, by working together, we can find solutions to systemic problems like unemployment, poor health and inequality and change society for the better.’