NEWS & EXPERT COMMENTARY
Stay up to date with the latest developments, insights, and opinion pieces from The Centre for the New Midlands. Our news and commentary section offers thoughtful perspectives on key regional issues, as well as updates on our work and impact.
This week, the Government revoked planning powers for nine local authorities across England, including three in the Midlands. It means developers can apply directly to the Planning Inspectorate, rather than through the local planning authority.
Described as a ‘Whitehall...
For decades, transport policy in the UK has been dominated by a familiar narrative: bigger projects deliver bigger results. Success has often been measured through the lens of scale, whether that is the number of miles of new infrastructure built, the size of investment...
Every few months a new report warns that the UK has another skills shortage. Employers cannot recruit, colleges need more funding, and young people are leaving education without the qualifications businesses need. Government responds with another strategy, another funding...
Alan Milburn has done the country a service. His interim report puts hard numbers on what many of us have watched build for years. Over one million young people are now not in education, employment or training. On current trends, 1.25 million within five years.
But the most...
For many years, England’s post-16 education system has been cluttered, confusing, and too often dismissive of technical education. Everyone, including the government, accepts that has proved incapable of delivering the outcomes which employers, government, parents, students...
The Centre for the New Midlands welcomed members of its Reimagining the Region network to Chaophraya Birmingham for its annual Summer Reception, bringing together leaders from business, local government, academia and the third sector for an evening of discussion, networking...
Significant collaboration between the Centre for the New Midlands, Social Life and Witton Lodge Community Association sets out a practical framework for safer, fairer and more connected neighbourhoods.
A major new report published today by the Centre for the New Midlands...
The Future Homes Standard has been presented as a major step forward for housing. In many respects, that is exactly what it should be.
New homes built to the standard are intended to produce at least 75 per cent lower carbon emissions than those built to 2013 standards....
I’ve just spent a couple of days immersed in industry discussions at UK Rail, and one thing is clear: we are witnessing a fundamental reset in how rail is planned, delivered and governed in the UK.
This is not incremental change. It is a structural shift, one that is redefining...
The recent Skills to Success roundtable, convened by the Centre for the New Midlands Employability and Skills Leadership group, brought together employers, educators, policymakers and sector leaders to talk frankly about skills and employability across our region. What emerged...
The Centre for the New Midlands has today published a new report, Skills to Success, setting out urgent recommendations to strengthen employability, improve workforce productivity, and better connect education with the needs of employers across the West Midlands.
The report...
A major new evaluation published today by the Centre for the New Midlands (CNM) reveals that St Basils’ pioneering Live and Work model—designed to provide genuinely affordable, employment linked housing for young people—has delivered £7.97 of social and economic value for...
As the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force this Friday, England’s private rented sector enters a new era: one that promises greater security for tenants, but also raises urgent questions about supply, viability and unintended consequences.
The Renters’ Rights Act represents...
There is a persistent and comfortable belief in both business and regional development that when growth slows, the problem must be execution. The assumption is that organisations are not moving fast enough, not collaborating effectively enough, or not investing in the right...
Last month the government finally announced the introduction of the new Future Homes Standard (FHS). In the midst of the unfolding war in the Middle East, the announcement was not met with much interest by most media outlets and my conversations over the past few weeks suggest...
Following the publication of the Government’s Future Home Standard (FHS), our Housing and Communities Leadership Board has offered its reflections on the announcements, broadly welcoming the FHS as a necessary and positive step. However, its success will depend less...
A Dutch man I used to work with many years ago had a saying, “Er bestaat niet zoiets als een probleem, alleen een kans die wacht op een oplossing”. Or “there is no such thing as a problem, just an opportunity waiting for a solution”.
There are two ways of looking at the...
At the start of March, we took a group of 20 senior leaders from across the housing sector and digital environment to Fazenda for the latest of our roundtables.
We are delighted to share the full summary of the discussions, which were held under Chatham House rules.
With...
America offers a compelling case study in data centre development but not the one we might expect. Loudoun County, Virginia, hosts the world’s largest concentration of data centres, handling of the majority of global internet traffic. This infrastructure achievement...
Research from the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce has found that 67% of the region’s businesses are already using AI, 79% say it has increased their productivity, and 69% say it has improved their profitability.
This provides a positive picture for the region, highlighting...
The Birmingham East Mayoral Development Corporation is poised to be established in the coming weeks – a move championed by politicians as having the potential to create “tens of thousands of jobs, thousands of homes and adding billions to the local economy”. In this...