Nick McKeogh
Chief Executive, NLA
Three months ago, Andy Burnham became Prime Minister, promising to put the built environment at the heart of Government. As the Budget approaches, we have the rare opportunity to prove it deserves that billing, but only by presenting ourselves as one connected system.
That is the thinking behind this year’s London Real Estate Forum theme: connectivity. It’s about how the built environment connects to the wider economy, including transport, energy, digital infrastructure, skills and public services. It’s also at the centre of NLA’s One Built Environment campaign.
Research by NLA, Greater London Authority Economics and the London School of Economics found that the built environment generates 25% of UK GVA, £568 billion, 2.7 times the contribution of finance and insurance. It supports one in eight jobs and contributes £168 billion in exports. Yet, it’s rarely treated as a strategic industry.
Benefits of greater connectivity
A Built Environment Industrial and Investment Strategy could change that by connecting property with the systems that make development possible: transport, energy, water, digital infrastructure, construction, planning, design, finance, skills and public services. For real estate, this is about gaining influence by showing how investment enables outcomes across the wider economy.
An industry organised around connectivity is in a
stronger position than sectors making separate case
The Government’s commitment to “devolution, not delegation” is particularly timely, and would give mayors and local authorities greater control over housing, transport, energy, innovation and skills. The aim is the joined-up approach the industry has been asking for. It only works if the built environment is treated as an economic lever.
Devolution may help alleviate housing, transport and infrastructure pressure
Devolution will only deliver if local leaders have partners who understand how a transport link unlocks a housing site, how an energy connection determines viability and how skills investment determines whether it gets built. An industry organised around connectivity is in a stronger position than sectors making separate cases.
London is the place to prove this. Its pressures on housing, transport and infrastructure are acute, while its mayoral and borough structures provide a framework for joined-up delivery. If the capital can demonstrate what a connected approach delivers, it can provide a template for devolution elsewhere.
