A very good afternoon, The Right Worshipful Lord Mayor, distinguished guests and welcome to the Westminster Property Association’s 36th Annual Lunch.
What a fantastic video and reminder of why economic growth, underpinned by strong private and public partnership, is so important to the success of this City.
The benefits of good growth can transform lives like Ali’s, who in the film has been inspired to follow the career opportunities in our sector. I’m delighted to welcome Ali, alongside a number of young people working with our charity partners Young Westminster Foundation and 2-3 Degrees, to the Lunch today. Watch out for them rising to senior roles across our member organisations in the years to come.
I’m going to come back to this later, but before I do…politics. Whilst we’ve had our fair share in recent years, nobody does elections quite like the USA.
Regardless of political or personal views, the US Presidential race has made for compelling viewing and our guest speaker today was at the heart of the action in the US as the BBC’s anchor.
I’m delighted that renowned broadcaster and journalist Clive Myrie is with us to share his own analysis about what a real estate developer, back in the White House, could mean for the world and the UK.
I think it is fair to say that in many Western democracies debate has become increasingly binary in recent years, with a middle ground harder to reach and pragmatism more difficult to find.
How do we in this room, successfully get our message across when levels of public trust in business and politics is low and views entrenched?
A new government was elected in July with a mission to grow the economy and improve public services, recognising that this is the only path to social prosperity.
As the employers in the room know too well, the decisions taken in the Autumn Budget pass the lion’s share of additional funding for the public purse on to business. This can only be borne through sustained economic growth and an environment that incentivises investment.
Westminster’s businesses are a fundamental part of its growth story. The Central Activities Zone contributes 14% of London’s economic output and is home to 13% of the capital’s jobs…..achieving this whilst occupying just a fraction of Greater London’s land area. This makes it one of the most efficient and successful commercial centres anywhere, as well as one of the most sustainable places to the grow the economy.
In Westminster, Good Growth is a bustling West End with thriving homes, culture, education, leisure and retail – in particular a rejuvenated Oxford St…..however that may be achieved.
Good Growth entices business to make Westminster its home, delivering high quality workplaces that inspire the next generation of talent.
Good Growth means spreading opportunity, and as the video showed, the potential to generate and extend prosperity and opportunity across the City. These are very real public benefits.
Nationally, the planning system can be a driver of that growth, but increasingly, it’s become a drag on the economy, holding back the jobs and homes the country needs, so we welcome the Government’s commitment to planning reform.
Over the past decade the number of major planning applications determined across the CAZ has fallen 54%, whilst according to figures released earlier this week by Knight Frank, the West End core has a Grade A office vacancy rate of just 0.3%, an all-time low, and reflects severely constrained supply amidst strong demand.
A typical market response to low supply is far from assured with growing risks from tougher regulation, a more fragile supply chain and viability burdened by increasing construction and finance costs.
For offices, we have long advocated a retrofit first, not retrofit only approach to development and it’s imperative that national and local policy supports all three tenets of sustainable development as set out in national planning guidance: Economic, Environmental and Social.
Elements of demolition will sometimes be required for a site to unlock its potential and the industry continues to lead and innovate in finding new ways to reduce carbon.
Striking the right balance between mitigating short term embodied carbon emissions and enabling long term, sustainable development is not easy.
For the best part of a year the WPA has been engaging with the City Council on its proposed retrofit first policy as part of its Partial Review of the City Plan, further details of which were published last week.
There have been frank and honest conversations, but we credit the City Council’s willingness to engage on the issues and hear the views of our members. There is more work to do and we’ll continue to make the case on behalf of our members ahead of the Plan’s Examination in Public in 2025.
Positive partnerships can deliver great outcomes and this brings me back to some of our work I touched on earlier.
Westminster’s Sustainable City Charter has grown to include 80 leading businesses covering over 40 million sq ft. By working together, these organisations are dramatically reducing the carbon emissions from their buildings. Please do sign up, if you’ve not already done so.
Good Growth, the theme of today’s Lunch, can achieve a more sustainable, successful and inclusive City. But we know there are huge disparities in how success is shared, with Westminster being home to some of the most affluent AND disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the country.
The property sector has an integral role to play in creating a more inclusive City, not just through the places we create, but by ensuring equitable access to the varied and fulfilling careers in the sector for local communities.
So back to my opening comments about the young people who are part of WPA’s three-year property focused employment scheme, Mastering My Future.
In just one year the programme has engaged more than 800 young people – 90 of whom have taken part in 56 hours of workshops, providing personal and professional training.
I’m delighted that 17 of these aspiring young people have also taken part in work experience opportunities with WPA member companies and 95% of young people coming through the programme are from an ethnic minority background.
We know that programmes like this work and this is an incredible start.
I’m particularly delighted that Nida Zahra, is with us today. Nida is a former Westminster school pupil who was drawn to the industry after completing work experience with WPA members. I personally got to know her during her 5-month placement at Landsec last year, and I’m thrilled to say she’s now into the second year of a real estate degree. She has a bright future ahead.
However, these opportunities are not created in isolation. High quality jobs, a thriving and vibrant Westminster in which social prosperity is widely shared, are the fruits of Good Growth.
Everyone has a part to play in delivering this, so we would like to thank all our partners and members in the room today for your continued support and engagement with WPA. I would also like to thank the Board for their support and the entire WPA team, so capably led by Charles Begley, for the delivery of our work.
Either way, I hope you enjoy your lunch and have a fantastic afternoon. Thank you.
Further reading:
Event: WPA Annual Lunch 2024
