London Property Alliance (the umbrella name for joint activities by WPA and CPA) attended Labour Party Conference in Liverpool to campaign on key issues for Central London’s built environment.
On the Monday afternoon, we hosted a roundtable fringe in partnership with Sheffield Property Association. Attended by Labour MPs, a London Assembly member, transport authorities, think tanks and key stakeholders – we discussed how to better connect London and the rest of the UK in order to drive economic growth and prosperity.
Following introductory speeches from Barry White (Chief Executive of Transport for the North) and Ben Rogers (Director of Centre for London), the group discussed the key opportunities and obstacles for funding, delivering and integrating transport infrastructure in post-Brexit Britain.
There was consensus from the roundtable that transport projects, such as Crossrail 2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail, shouldn’t be seen as a zero-sum game. New funding models and local-decision making should be explored so we can deliver the transport infrastructure our cities and country needs.
Attendees included Catherine West MP (member of the APPGs for Crossrail and Devolution), Daniel Zeichner MP (former Shadow Minister for Transport), Unmesh Desai AM, senior representatives from Transport for London, Transport for the North, Midlands Connect, Centre for London and Centre for Cities. Thank you to our guests for contributing to this valuable discussion.
We also attended the City of London Corporation and UK Finance Labour Dinner. The keynote speakers, Barry Gardiner MP (Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade) and Catherine McGuinness (Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee at the City Corporation), talked about Brexit and its potential impact on the UK’s financial and professional services: a key occupier base for commercial buildings in the capital.
On Tuesday morning we attended the Centre for Cities roundtable breakfast on ‘Mobile Cities: the revolution in urban transport.’ It was an interesting discussion with policymakers and transport authorities about the role of data and transport integration in ensuring transport in the UK provides the mobility and connectivity people and businesses require.
