Property and construction consultancy, Tuffin Ferraby Taylor (TFT), says Birmingham is on the up, but calls for more devolved powers and commitment to HS2 and airport expansion to deliver on its great economic promise.
This follows the city’s ranking as the number one UK investment destination, reported in a major study of European cities, Emerging trends in Real Estate, Europe 2015, by PWC and the Urban Land Institute.
TFT has one of its major offices in Birmingham.
Commenting on the report, Alan Pemberton, Tuffin Ferraby Taylor’s Managing Partner, said:
Yes, Birmingham is on the up, and may well be Britain’s current property hot spot for 2015, but it has some significant challenges.
Birmingham and even greater Birmingham lacks strategic leadership and needs devolution and decentralisation with the freedom to make fundamental development decisions.
Ideally, Birmingham must have an inspirational Mayor; a figurehead to lead, drive and co-ordinate growth and development to take advantage and maximise opportunity for the longer term. Otherwise, short-term interests take over, resulting in no discernible impact.
Funding is a major issue. Government cuts have meant decreasing resources. If planners are unable to respond to applications, developers will go elsewhere. Charging a premium to guarantee an application is given due consideration within a prescribed timeframe is a possible solution.
There may be an initial tidal wave of investment, but there is limited supply. Future development is too far in the future and fundamentally reliant on large-scale infrastructure, namely HS2 and expansion of Birmingham airport.
There is also the risk that these projects may not happen. Once certainty is achieved, then development opportunities really will open up. Then Birmingham’s promise will be realised.