I will be speaking at a panel session on “Building prosperity through housing and planning”, which aims to explore the critical relationship between housing delivery and economic growth, especially in our regional cities.

The idea for the session came from the Government’s commitment to achieve economic growth, enabled through the delivery of 1.5 million new homes over the next 5 years. The rationale being that housing delivery leads to economic activity in the development sector.

Recent announcements during the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool have brought fresh light and more detailed strategy around these commitments with 12 new towns to support housing growth. Meanwhile, the Modern Industrial Strategy has outlined the core sectors government sees as important to our economy.

While we all know the direct links between housing and wealth creation, what I am keen to explore is the more complex link between housing and wider economic growth. How does the housing commitment allow us to be more productive and competitive, transition and diversify our economy, and help unlock new economic opportunities?

Looking at past patterns, the picture is mixed. In some places high housing growth has aligned well with economic growth. Places like Manchester, where high density, flatted development for skilled professionals, in an amenity-rich city centre, were delivered alongside high quality commercial office space; capturing a skilled workforce and high value economic opportunity in the one place.

However in other areas the picture has been mixed, and in particular in our major cities, which is where the majority of our productivity and economic opportunities lie. Cities like Liverpool, Leeds, Birmingham and Sheffield, have underperformed in terms of housing, economy, or both.

The challenges of high density, mixed-use development, establishing residential communities, and redeveloping brownfield land in dense urban centres has come with many challenges, not least planning and viability. This has led to many of our core cities remaining below the average productivity line, when as a nation we need them to excel.

I have also been asked by the RTPI to judge this year’s entries into the Awards for Excellence in Planning for a Successful Economy. Some fantastic projects have been nominated and certainly respond to the above challenges, with lots we can all learn.

It will be great to discuss all of this and more at the RTPI Conference. I will be joined by fantastic and inspirational speakers including Councillor Shanika Mahendran, Cabinet Member for Planning and Placemaking, and the youngest and first female Asian councillor for Milton Keynes.  We will be joined in addition by Nuala Gallagher, Corporate Director for City Development at Liverpool Council, whose team have turned around the fortunes of the city’s development potential, and now sit on the cusp of some quite remarkable regeneration initiatives.

We look forward to seeing many of you at the conference, do reach out if you would like to catch up.