In the lead up to Halloween, the Guardian published its list of the 25 best horror films of all-time; and government launched its white paper on local growth.
Like some of the best films of the genre, in the white paper much of the gore happens off-screen. So while the text might be upbeat, in the background, government will be spending as much on winding up the RDAs (£1.4 billion) as on the whole of the Regional Growth Fund. The crude pre-emptive abolition of Regional Spatial Strategies has wiped out up to 300,000 new homes in the planning system, and the spending review has reduced the social homes budget by £4.4bn. The government's new flagship Local Enterprise Partnerships have no core funding, unclear powers and resources, and proposals have not been approved for huge swathes of the country most in need.
However, there are significant opportunities in the new approach to local growth that can, I believe, give encouragement to local leadership teams.
Local authorities and their partners in Local Enterprise Partnerships need to consider four steps under the new arrangements.
Step one – take the time and put the effort into building a genuine business/civic partnership for a real economic geography based on trust; shared and deep understandings of how the local economy works; and clear, evidenced priorities for development.
Step Two – turn these priorities into some sort of business growth framework and integrated investment programme. Rooted in making the most of existing local assets and resources, the programme should also identify the relevance of new opportunities presented by government – regional growth fund, tax incremental financing, local sustainable transport fund, green investment bank, "growth hubs", and a number of other measures signalled in the white paper and the national infrastructure plan published last week.
Step Three – locate the development programme in a much wider approach to "localism", including the overall central/local debates on place-based budgeting, enhanced local freedoms and flexibilities, and new delivery mechanisms like asset-based public/private partnerships.
Step Four – communicate, communicate, communicate - with government; with business – both local and global; and with local communities. Engage and enthuse them with formulating and implementing the vision for the area; give them a stake in the area's economic success.
Perhaps after all the Wizard of Oz, with its ability to transcend genres, is a better metaphor than the pure horror classics for the impending journey of the Local Enterprise Partnerships. It's a tough journey but with a happy ending. If we can we can overcome the Wicked Witch of the West(minster), that is.
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