The government is now reflecting on the future of its casino plans, after the House of Lords defeated secondary legislation allowing for the construction of a ‘supercasino’ in Manchester.
Peers voted by 123 to 120 against the proposals for Manchester and 16 other towns around the UK to be given casino licences: it followed a government victory in the Commons in the face of a rebellion by 18 Labour backbenchers.
It followed the shock announcement from the Casino Advisory Panel in January that Manchester was the preferred location for the one ‘supercasino’ permitted under the Gambling Act, over the favourite bids from Blackpool and the Dome in London.
All 17 sites now face months of delay as the government reflects on the outcome.
“When you’re going to win a vote, you don’t have a plan B,” said culture secretary Tessa Jowell. “You go out to win a vote – and we won in the Commons… but given that the Lords have rejected the order, we now obviously have to consider both their amendment and the various options that are open to us.”
New council tax bands should be introduced to ensure those in the cheapest properties have lower bills, while those in the most expensive properties contribute more, according to the long-awaited report from Sir Michael Lyons.
Sir Michael also recommended that the savings limit for pensioners be raised from £16,000 to £50,000, while council tax benefit should be automatically paid, to reduce the numbers of people who are entitled but do not claim – at present, £1.8bn in benefits go unclaimed each year.
In addition, Sir Michael suggested that councils be allowed to levy a local tourist tax, and charge householders according to the amount of rubbish they throw away. And ministers should consider earmarking a certain percentage of income tax to be distributed to local authorities.
Although local government minister Phil Woolas welcomed the report, he insisted the government would not implement a council tax revaluation in this Parliament, and ruled out the possible introduction of a tourist tax.
The government has shortlisted 16 councils for unitary status.
They included the county councils in Cornwall, North Yorkshire, Cumbria, Durham, Northumberland, Somerset and Shropshire, as well as Exeter and Norwich City councils and Ipswich borough council. A further 10 councils who had applied for unitary status had their applications rejected.
“The bids that local authorities submitted show that they are up for improving the services they offer to their communities by making them more responsive, effective and efficient,” said local government minister Phil Woolas.
A consultation will now be held, with the final decision announced in July, and the changes coming into effect in April 2009.
North East
Planning permission has been secured for a new development at the former Dunlop site at Team Valley, Gateshead.
A joint venture between One North East and UK Land Estates, the Buildings for Business development will involve the construction of 10 mixed-use service and office units, and five large industrial units. Work is scheduled to start this summer, and be completed by Spring 2008.
A new windfarm in Northumbria has been given a provisional green light by a new study from the North East Assembly.
The study – using an award-winning method from Arup with White Consultants – found that the site, in the North and South Charlton area, could accommodate up to 100MW of wind energy development.
West Midlands
A project aimed at encouraging innovative practices among small and medium-sized businesses in the West Midlands region has been extended by 12 months.
The Innovation Network programme, which is funded by Advantage West Midlands and the European Regional Development Fund, was launched in 2002 and in its five years of operation has worked with 500 companies and created 429 jobs.
“Innovation Networks has a successful track record in encouraging groups of companies to work together to make ideas become reality, making companies more profitable and creating jobs,” said Gill Roberts, the project’s manager. “This extension means we will be able to work with even more companies and help bring even more products and services from the drawing board to the market.”
Advantage West Midlands chairman Nick Paul has singled out a key regeneration project in Nuneaton as one of the most impressive in the region.
During visits to projects funded by the RDA in Coventry and Warwickshire, members of the Advantage West Midlands board visited the Camp Hill estate. Work started in 2000, and during that time 172 new homes have been built, with work under way on a new village centre with new shops and community facilities. Advantage West Midlands has invested £8.5m towards the first phases of the development, and is considering an application for £12m in funding towards the final third phase.
East Midlands
Tourism businesses in the East Midlands region are being encouraged to participate in the Enjoy England Excellence Awards, organised by East Midlands Tourism.
There are 17 categories in the 2007 ceremony, including Best Tourism Website, Best Self-Catering Holiday and Best Visitor Attraction, as well as two new awards – Best Pub Experience, and a Green Tourism Award. The deadline for submissions is May 30.
Vivienne Taylor of Underleigh House won the Best Bed and Breakfast award at last year’s ceremony. “There’s no doubt that winning the award has had a great impact on Underleigh’s business,” she said. “Forward bookings this year have gone like wildfire and we’re now actually reaching saturation point.”
The Business Link service in the East Midlands has been restructured, in a bid to improve services available to local entrepreneurs and deliver value for money.
Under the changes, the Business Link service will no longer be provided by five different county-based operators, but instead by the single, regional organisation East Midlands Business Ltd.
“Regionalisation presents a unique opportunity for us to improve access to a wide range of business support services offered by private, public and voluntary sector partners,” insisted Michael Carr, executive director for business services at the East Midlands Development Agency.
Yorkshire and Humber
Yorkshire Forward has launched a new £8m project aimed at encouraging West Yorkshire businesses to embrace equality and diversity in their searches for new workers.
Wakefield District Council will lead on the three-year initiative aimed at encouraging employers to offer opportunities to the hard-to-reach communities in the region.
“This project provides significant investment opportunities for everyone if we can stimulate the desire to learn and achieve in people whose futures are currently dictated by legacies of deprivation and worklessness in their communities,” said Yorkshire Forward executive director of economic inclusion, Thea Stein.
Rotherham has been chosen as the location for a new Centre for Food Robotics and Automation, with funding from Yorkshire Forward and the Northern Way.
The centre offers businesses in food and drink processing the chance to see how economic and cost-effective automation can be implemented, and has been created in collaboration with academics at the University of Salford.
London
A range of projects in the capital are to benefit from a share of £11m funding to improve training, skills and employment in the run-up to the 2012 Olympic Games.
The Opportunities Fund (Engaging in London 2012) grants will fund projects including an Islington initiative to help Bengali women establish businesses and training, work placements for 200 Black and Ethnic Minority construction graduates, and a London Metropolitan University project to create 40 new women-led enterprises.
“The 2012 Games is a major catalyst to increasing training and employment in London which is why it is among the key themes of round two funding,” said Sarah Ebanja, deputy chief executive of the London Development Agency. “It is our priority to ensure Londoners get the most out of Olympic opportunities and these projects will complement the extensive work already under way or planned in making this happen.”
The members of the new advisory group of Design for London have been confirmed.
The group, chaired by architect Richard Rogers, will include seven other architects as well as a developer, an engineer and a sustainable development consultant.
“London is a global capital for architecture and urban design, and the city has the most exciting and demanding development and regeneration prospects for 100 years,” said London mayor Ken Livingstone. “This advisory group brings together a world-class group of talented and highly experienced individuals that reflect the ambition and diversity of this city.”
South East
John Rutherford has been confirmed as inward investment director at the South East of England Development Agency (SEEDA). He will work as part of the joint SEEDA/UK Trade and Investment International Business Team.
Rutherford has served as associate director general of Invest Hong Kong, and prior to that was regional director (Asia Pacific) for InvestUK, the government’s inward investment arm.
“I am very excited about taking up this position at SEEDA, and hope my experience in implementing and delivering inward investment promotion campaigns and programmes can enhance the already excellent work that is being done by the organisation,” he said.
The South East Regional Assembly has published a new practical guide for planners, local councils and developers to counter the effects of climate change.
The guide particularly highlights how housing can be made more resilient to hotter summers and wetter winters. A regional climate change summit in Brighton called for higher building standards and new ways to encourage customers to make environmentally friendly choices, in a bid to tackle the climate change problem.
South West
A key, long-term plan for the future of the South West economy, housing, transport and environment is coming under close scrutiny through a process known as Examination in Public.
An independent panel, appointed by communities secretary Ruth Kelly, will take evidence from over 200 organisations and individuals on the draft Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS). When developing the RSS, the South West Regional Assembly consulted with councillors and officers from the region’s 51 local authorities, as well as members of business, voluntary and community groups.
However, the South West Regional Development Agency has argued that the RSS must include a greater emphasis on a growing economy and population, allowing for wider benefits including affordable housing and investment in the environment.
Key issues the SWRDA highlights include the further promotion of Exeter as an economic player, improvement of Plymouth’s economic performance, and helping address housing and employment land shortages in the West of England in a bid to achieve Bristol’s ambition to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing areas.
East of England
Inspire East and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) have signed a memorandum of understanding to work closely together in building sustainable communities.
Representatives of the two organisations signed a multi-coloured ‘wheel’ indicating the eight components of sustainable communities as defined by the Department for Communities and Local Government – transport and connectivity, governance, services, equity, environment, economy, built environment, and social and cultural. They will work closely on areas including joint training of CIC members, and shared planning and communication.
Representatives of the East of England Regional Assembly have lobbied the European Commission to focus more support on the region’s struggling coastal towns.
The assembly’s response to the commission’s Maritime Green Paper calls for more support to be focused on improving infrastructure, accessibility of local services, regeneration and research into new technology to tackle coastal erosion.
