Future Cities: How Can Regeneration Be Done Sustainably? Breakfast Club Briefings Debate At Labour Party Conference

At Ackroyd Lowrie, our ambition is to step outside the normal role of architects and engage with the decision-makers who influence the way our cities evolve. We urge politicians and policymakers to focus on a vision for sustainable cities, and then implement a roadmap and policies to make it a reality.

To present our ideas in a meaningful forum, we hosted a Breakfast Club Briefings event, chaired by former Member of the European Parliament for the East of England, Alex Mayer, at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool. Joined by MPs, Metro Mayors, Local Leaders and Councillors, our directors, Oli Lowrie and Jon Ackroyd proposed a series of policy recommendations for discussion.

 Oli said: “We believe cities can help provide the solution to the housing, energy, and cost of living crises. To design and build these, however, we need policy that enables development, stronger partnerships between public and private sector, and support from politicians. Breakfast Club Briefings was set up purely for this purpose and the panel at the Labour Party Conference offered a captive audience to lobby.”

Our four key recommendations are:

1) Retrofit First: Only 1% of the UK’s housing stock is new build, meaning there is an enormous challenge to modernise. Funding to upgrade existing homes should be a priority, potentially via incentives and rebates rather than massive tax cuts. The UK has a great opportunity here to become world leaders.

2) Decarbonise the Grid: This means switching to electric power and powering homes and industries with renewables. The UK has great on- and off-shore wind resources that could be better utilised.

3) 15-minute Cities: Transport is a huge contributor to the climate crisis and cities should be planned to avoid the need for vehicular trips. In France, for instance, there is an unwritten rule that no one should be more than 15 minutes from a boulangerie to buy their daily bread.

4) A Green Urban Task Force: This urgently needs establishing to develop a vision for sustainable cities. Only when we agree on a vision can we put in place policies and actions to achieve it.

Following Oli and Jon’s presentation, panellists Dr Nick Johnson, Mayor of Cambridge & Peterborough; Dan Norris, Metro Mayor for the West of England; and Mike Reader, Director of Work Winning at MACE presented case studies from the regions. Themes included the skills shortage, especially regarding green development, sustainable transport and changing commuter habits, and the challenges of securing funding for large scale regeneration.

Closing remarks focused on the most common topic of the morning; the need for connectivity, community and delivering locally-led solutions, not a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

Jon concluded: “The debate served as an essential reminder of the importance of collaboration and a continual dialogue between public and private sector. Covid-19 proved that emergencies can provoke radical, co-ordinated responses and the time is now for the same action to be applied as we discuss the future of cities.”

Guests at the Breakfast Club Briefings included:

Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader of Brent Council
Cllr Krupa Sheth, Brent Council
Cllr Adam Jogee, Haringey Council
Virendra Sharma MP- Ealing
Tom Battersby - Bath Housing
Cllr Angela Hopkins, Coventry Council
Cllr Carlene Lee Phaoke, Newham London Borough Council
Cllr Shaban Mohammed, Newham London Borough Council
Cllr Daniel Lee-Phakoe, Newham London Borough Council
Zoe Peat - Labour Housing Group