In the Spring Budget, the Chancellor announced a raft of measures that the Government intends to help ‘level up’ the UK. Specifically, they’re pledging to prioritise:
- Employment: boosting labour supply
- Education: providing everyone with the skills and support they need
- Enterprise: providing the right conditions for businesses to succeed
When investment is made into the infrastructure and economy of an area, it attracts businesses and creates employment opportunities, which can, but not always, boost the demand for housing. And, if this generates more wealth and the desirability of an area increase, that can drive up prices and rents and create new property investment opportunities. For property owners and landlords, it’s well worth being aware of which areas are being targeted for government and institutional investment. The earlier in the process you can take advantage of property investment opportunities, the better your medium to long-term returns could be – both in terms of equity growth and rental profits.
Investment Zones
The Government has identified eight ‘Investment Zones’ in England:
- The proposed East Midlands Mayoral Combined County Authority
- Greater Manchester Mayoral Combined Authority
- Liverpool City Region Mayoral Combined Authority
- The proposed North East Mayoral Combined Authority
- South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
- Tees Valley Mayoral Combined Authority
- West Midlands Mayoral Combined Authority
- West Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.
Each of these will have access to £80m worth of ‘interventions’ over five years.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities is also working with the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to establish how Investment Zones will be delivered in the rest of the UK.
These plans are to work out how to ‘create’ the Canary Wharf’s of the future, so if they go ahead, they could make a huge difference to the local areas chosen. However, these are very long-term projects. As such, it could be the investment payback could take a decade or more and indeed, with a general election in 2024, Investment Zones may change or never get off the ground, so it’s important to keep up with local news of what’s happening in these areas.
Levelling Up Regions
Over the next three years, more than £400m will be invested into the 20 regions considered most in need of levelling up.
The 20 areas are: City of Kingston upon Hull, Sandwell, Mansfield, Middlesbrough, Blackburn with Darwen, Hastings, Torbay, Tendring, Stoke-on-Trent, Boston, Redcar and Cleveland, Wakefield, Oldham, Rother, Torridge, Walsall, Doncaster, South Tyneside, Rochdale, and Bassetlaw.
These projects are likely to be much smaller, but if well targeted, they could deliver an extra boost to prices and rents in the immediate vicinity of the places that are being regenerated.
Regeneration projects
More than £400m has been allocated to specific regeneration projects, the majority of which are in the North of England and the Midlands. They include:
- A research campus in the Liverpool City region
- Transforming Bootle town centre
- A new community hub in Stockport
- £20m each for Sandwell, Redcar and Cleveland, Blackburn with Darwen, Wolverhampton, Rotherham and North-East Lincolnshire
To find out about specific plans for your area – or an area you might be considering investing in – you can visit the local council planning department, which will have details on infrastructure changes and any new commercial and residential building.
To find out more specifically about how the supply and demand of property is likely to change and which local areas might best suit your own letting plans, contact your nearest Leaders branch and one of our team will be very happy to help.
