City-regions policy murkier than ever

Sir Peter Hall, Regeneration & Renewal, 10 November 2006

Well, not exactly: there's a 36-page chapter titled Strong Cities, Strategic Regions. This makes the same argument as the Northern Way and is backed by research from the State of the English Cities study. It argues that provincial core cities have turned the corner, though they still have a long way to catch up with London, and the aim should be to extend their renaissance to their surrounding sub-regions. "There is no choice between strong cities and strong regions", the white paper intones.

It goes on to outline a host of areas where city-region partnerships could deliver value: economic development, employment and skills, managing housing supply and demand, transport, environment and climate change, culture, deprivation and policy. But what next? Here the fog descends.

The key, apparently, will be "effective collaboration through Multi Area Agreements". These, the paper says, "will need to work closely with regional agencies to ensure strategies are coherent and the linkages between places at wider geographical levels are properly considered to add real value". And, in case anyone has missed the point, "it will be important for all MAAs to take account of existing regional strategies". They will also be voluntary: groups of local authorities will take the initiative to develop and deliver MAAs, with no apparent encouragement from Whitehall. Since some councils have started to develop proposals, says the white paper, "we intend to work closely with them over the coming months and will take forward these approaches through the review of sub-national economic development".

What explains this sudden meteorological shift? Pretty clearly, a set of Whitehall turf wars. The Treasury had already signalled that it didn't think much of the Northern Way because it ran counter to the structure of regional development agencies, which in key regions - the North-West, North-East, Yorkshire and Humber, - could see their functions literally dismembered by the emergence of city-regional governance. And as usual, the Treasury has won. Moral, in case you needed it spelling out: don't mess with Gordon.

By Sir Peter Hall. (Bartlett) Professor of Planning and Regeneration, University College London. Email: sir.peter.hall@haynet.com.