Chapter 7: Towns and Cities: Local Power is the Path to Recovery
92.Towns and cities are vital to the social and economic wellbeing of the UK, as they provide many of us with the building blocks for our lives—housing, public transport, green spaces, workspaces, public services and leisure opportunities. If towns and cities become dilapidated, with poor housing and green spaces, limited public transport, public transport and leisure opportunities, it is inevitable that people’s wellbeing will suffer. If towns and cities are vibrant, with a plentiful supply of high-quality housing and green spaces, reliable and affordable public transport, and a wide range of public services, workspaces and leisure opportunities people’s wellbeing will tend to improve and people may feel better about themselves and their lives.
93.Towns and cities are at the very heart of our country, with approximately 55% of the population living in these urban areas, and these areas representing approximately 60% of the economy, on a jobs and output measure.37 As such, the importance of towns and cities to our lives cannot be overemphasised, and neither can the impact of the pandemic on our urban areas. The seismic changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic—in our shopping habits, working patterns, and leisure activities—has had a devastating impact on our towns and cities. As such, we no longer have any choice, but to reimagine the towns and cities of the future, as any attempt to revert to business as usual is likely to be like trying to stop the tide.
94.This is why our last substantive inquiry concentrated on towns and cities, and specifically on larger towns and smaller cities—defined as cities outside London and the 11 core cities of Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.38
95.As part of this inquiry, we developed our proposals for the future of our towns and cities, by exploring the impact of COVID-19 on towns and cities, and how it has changed our relationship with, and the dynamic within, those urban areas. Our inquiry concentrated on the long-term impact of the pandemic on large towns and smaller cities, focussing particularly on housing and green spaces, the changing nature of employment and public transport provision. Building on the evidence received from businesses, town planners, transport providers, think tanks and academics, we then explored, with local authority leaders, the potential to develop and implement an innovative plan for the future of our towns and cities. Transcripts of these sessions are available on our website,39 alongside our report—Towns and Cities: Local Power is the Path to Recovery—which outlines our key findings and recommendations.40
96.Underlying our plan for the future of towns and cities is a need to empower town and city leadership. We want to see:
- The UK Government outlining, in its Levelling Up White Paper, its plans for further financial and legislative devolution of powers, to enable local authority leaders to deliver regeneration policies tailored to the needs of their specific areas;
- The Treasury Select Committee and Lords’ Economic Affairs Committee undertaking a detailed inquiry into the potential for introducing a new hypothecated online sales tax, paid by the consumer, to balance decreasing revenue from business rates;
- The UK Government introducing three-year rolling local government financial settlement, at an increased level; and
- The UK Government agreeing with the Local Government Association to create an improved resources equalisation scheme.
97.Our most successful towns and cities have a strong blend of housing, retail, workplaces and leisure opportunities. To bring about this blended approach in all our towns and cities, we want to see:
- The UK Government providing financial support to local authority leaders to enable the establishment of work hubs, pop-up retail units and arts and culture provision in our towns and cities;
- The UK Government working with local authorities to develop a blended approach to housing in our towns and cities; and
- The UK Government working with local authorities to develop a blended approach to public service provision in our towns and cities.
98.We want to see tackling inequalities at the heart of local authorities’ regeneration plans by:
- Developing a method for actively engaging with the different groups, communities and neighbourhoods within their towns and cities, and ensure that these views are acted upon in developing their regeneration plans;
- Ensuring that investment in housing, public transport, public services and green spaces in town and city centres, is matched by the same investment in housing, public transport, public services and green spaces in those neighbourhoods that risk being left behind; and
- Developing a process for mainstreaming the consideration of inequalities when assessing proposals for improving housing, green spaces, public transport provision and public services, and ensuring that the views, and needs, of specific groups and communities are at the heart of the decision-making process.
99.We were unable to undertake a detailed exploration of all aspects of the future of towns and cities, and would like to see other Select Committees exploring some of the emerging themes from our work, including:
- We encourage the Women and Equalities Select Committee to undertake a detailed inquiry exploring inequalities in our towns and cities; and
- We encourage the Transport Select Committee to undertake a detailed inquiry exploring the potential for introducing intermodal ticketing and payment systems for public transport in our towns and cities, alongside its potential impact on passenger numbers.
38 Core Cities UK, ‘The 11 core cities’: https://www.corecities.com/cities [accessed 1 December 2021]
39 Oral evidence taken before the COVID-19 Committee, inquiry on The long-term impact of the pandemic on towns and cities (Session 2021–22) : https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1229/the-longterm-impact-of-the-pandemic-on-towns-and-cities/publications/oral-evidence/ [accessed 19 November 2021]
40 COVID-19 Committee, Towns and Cities: Local Power is the Path to Recovery (2nd Report, Session 2021–22, HL Paper 115)