Simon Lloyd, a partner in the National Logistics & Industrial Agency, at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Through the publication of its industrial strategy green paper, we have seen the Government reaffirm its commitment to delivery of long term infrastructure projects, such as HS2, whilst also committing to plans to expand digital infrastructure. Pushing the UK to the forefront of innovation through technologies such as 5G is an extremely laudable aim, but the Government must follow up with proper deliver, whilst also thinking strategically about other critical planning crunch points.
“There is also a continued focus on the importance of training and skills in terms of delivery. While these are clearly important, overall we would like to see less high level political rhetoric from Government and more detail which businesses can properly plan against.
“For example, what does addressing regional imbalances actually mean in practice? Businesses invest in an area that makes commercial sense for them, with availability of trained labour and access to customers and suppliers a priority. Tax advantages and property availability is less important, although capital allowances for plant investment or relief for research and development can be effective. When there is positive direction from the Government on locational choice, it is often not sustainable in the long term. Instead of geographical pockets of investment, we would rather see investment in the overall infrastructure such as labour, technology and transport. This would be far more successful in getting businesses to follow suit – which is what will ultimately determine the success of the Government’s efforts.
“From a real estate perspective moving forwards, we would like a focus on regular business rates revaluations as well as a more straightforward planning process which includes an urgent full review of the Green Belt. Overall, we would like to see much quicker implementation on infrastructure projects – which is a longstanding issue.”