Balfour Beatty has partnered with the Institute for Government to sponsor new report exploring how England’s mayors can deliver the urban regeneration needed for the government to achieve its economic growth targets.

Titled Devolution and urban regeneration: How can metro mayors transform England’s towns and cities, the report highlights the importance of government empowering mayors to create regional spatial plans, provide greater funding certainty and capacity to support for combined authorities, so that mayors can develop and deliver a long-term strategy for regeneration.

The report sets out six key recommendations for how mayors can successfully lead the regeneration of urban areas:

• Design interventions that make best use of the full mayoral toolkit, including investment funds, joint ventures, development corporations and development zones.
• Set a clear long-term regeneration vision and convene a coalition of support for this among local stakeholders and investors.
• Use their mayoral mandate to promote key regeneration schemes to government and the private sector.
• Engage businesses and contractors early on both to identify risks and to secure wider opportunities of regeneration, such as high-skilled job creation.
• Align devolved powers over transport, skills, housing and the environment to secure the full benefits of regeneration efforts.
• Use mayoral development corporations to regenerate areas with complex land ownership patterns and those that need up front public investment to ‘crowd in’ the private sector.

Nick Crossfield, Chief Executive Officer of Balfour Beatty’s UK Construction Services business, said: “We are delighted to have participated in this important research project, as Metro Mayors and Combined Authorities become increasingly pivotal in driving growth and regeneration across the UK. The construction and infrastructure industry will play a leading role in this, delivering the schemes and providing the expertise needed to transform regions into places where people want to live, work, and invest.

“In our experience, one of the best ways Metro Mayors can maximise the benefits of their investment in infrastructure is by involving contractors early in the process. This involvement allows us to provide vital input on buildability, deliverability, and efficiency. Taking a programmatic approach, by grouping together related schemes, can unlock further efficiencies and drive social value, ensuring that the full potential of these transformative projects is realised.”

Millie Mitchell, Report Author, said: “Urban regeneration will be pivotal to delivering economic growth and metro mayors should lead the way. Our new report reveals the wide array of powers that mayors have to do this, demonstrating the importance of picking the right tool for the job, depending on the needs of a local area. With more support from government, mayors will be able to lead the way for transformative change.”

Balfour Beatty is the UK’s largest infrastructure provider and one of the 40 strategic suppliers to the Government. Founded and headquartered in the UK throughout its 115-year history, the company is a proud British business with 12,500 employees working on construction sites and in offices across the country.

Working closely with Government bodies, Combined Authorities, Local Authorities and private investors, Balfour Beatty finances, develops, builds and maintains critical national infrastructure, and projects at the heart of local communities – such as Hinkley Point C, HS2 and Net Zero Teesside, the A63 Castle Street Scheme in Hull, and Bradford’s City Centre cycling and walking improvements.