The new West of England Combined Authority should ‘think big’ in order to ensure the region obtains maximum benefit from devolution, according to a leading commercial property economist.
Walter Boettcher, UK chief economist for global real estate advisor Colliers International, told a South West regional conference held by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that the new authority and its ‘Metro Mayor’ Tim Bowles should be making representations to the National Infrastructure Commission for advice on identifying, prioritising and funding major new projects.
“This is the chance to think big,” he said of the new West of England Combined Authority (WECA), which was brought into being under the West of England devolution deal, whereby powers over economic strategy, housing, transport and skills were devolved from Westminster together with a central Government funding allocation of nearly £1 billion over the next 30 years to invest in infrastructure projects and public services.
“There is only so much that the Authority can achieve with central Government funding. There is simply not enough money in the public purse to support everything that needs doing.
“The money that you have from central Government needs to be used and targeted carefully to demonstrate that the different areas of the West of England region can work well together, and it should also be used as seed funding for obtaining larger amounts of non-governmental funding for major projects. The heavy lifting could be done by domestic and international institutional funds.
“The National Infrastructure Commission has been set up to help central government identify and prioritise projects. If I were a local stakeholder, I’d have my rabbits all lined up and I would have my Metro Mayor go and make representations. The NIC have considerable depth of knowledge of finance structures.
“Also, the Mayoral-led Combined Authorities are meant to have borrowing powers of their own, and this is something that should be used to full advantage.”
Mr Boettcher was responding to questions from the head of the Bristol office of Colliers International, Tim Davies, who also introduced him on stage to the 120 delegates attending a regional RICS Continuing Professional Development Day at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Bristol.
Mr Davies said of devolution and the WECA: “It is now up to the new Combined Authority to unlock and maximise the benefits of devolution, and the built environment is arguably the sector that will be most impacted by this.
“There are three main threads as I see it: the opportunity for growth and inward investment; improving our infrastructure and in doing so increasing accessibility; creating a more responsive planning system.”
Mr Boettcher also spoke of his hopes for Tim Bowles, the ‘Metro Mayor’ for the West of England Combined Authority.
“One of the key things that needs to be done for the new Authority is for it to be promoted effectively,” he said.
“Mr Bowles had a career in business and worked for a marketing company promoting conferences and the like. It looks to me like a perfect background for regional promotional work that needs to be done.”
Mr Boettcher added that ultimately he would like to see the WECA strengthened by becoming part of a Severn Powerhouse including North Somerset – which opted out of joining the WECA – and Newport and Cardiff.
“If North Somerset, Newport and Cardiff were on board together with the West of England Combined Authority to create a ‘Severn Powerhouse’ it would be very powerful,” he said.
