Manchester is top attraction
MANCHESTER is the top city for attracting jobs and people, a new report has revealed.
But think tank Centre for Cities, which wrote the report, is calling for changes to planning laws to allow more house building, including on green belt land, and to protect commercial space.
The report, Competition for Space, examines the challenges British cities face in managing competing demands for residential and commercial space – especially in their city centres, where high skilled, high-paying businesses increasingly choose to locate.
It found that the cities which have seen the biggest growth over recent decades are not those with longestablished successful economies in the South East but in major urban centres of the North and Mid- lands, including Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham. Manchester has seen the highest city centre growth in England in recent decades - measured by combined jobs and residential growth - followed closely by Leeds, Birmingham and Liverpool.
Moreover, with jobs growth, Manchester outpaced all other cities, including London, despite the capital’s continued dominance in the national economy.
In total, Manchester’s city centre saw an increase of 63,800 jobs - 84 per cent - in its city centre between 1998 and 2015.
However, the report also warns that the urban resurgence in places like Manchester could be undermined by planning polices which prioritise residential development over commercial space in city centres.
Centre for Cities makes two key recommendations: exclude city centres from Permitted Development Rights, which allow commercial space to be converted for residential use without planning permission, and relax planning laws in other parts of cities to allow more house building, including on green belt.
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “Thirty years ago the centre of Manchester was run-down and struggling, but since then it has undergone a dramatic transformation, becoming an increasingly attractive location for people to live and work in.
“This urban renaissance has brought opportunities for people living across the city and its surrounding areas, and it’s vital that it continues. But for that to happen, local leaders need to take tough decisions on how to sustain the growth of the commercial centre, while also providing the homes that Mancunians need.
“Public debate on these questions has rightly focused on housing issues in the city. But addressing these problems shouldn’t come at the expense of city centre commercial space, which will be vital in bringing more businesses, jobs and opportunities to Manchester in the future.
“Reforming planning laws to protect the commercial heart of the city – and to encourage more housebuilding in other areas – will help Manchester to manage these competing demands, and to continue to prosper in future.”