Hillingdon goes for growth
A few days ago, I took a nostalgic trip back to Hillingdon (where I served as a councillor for eight years) to attend a well-organised UK Property Forums event titled “Hillingdon Takes Off” which was described as an investor conference. With dark clouds presently gathering over Europe’s security, the event was appropriately held at Churchill’s Battle of Britain Bunker which is now an excellent museum chronicling our finest hour.
The first aspect of the event which was notable in contrast to other similar networking events, was how many senior Council employees were present at the event. With the Council Leader, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Planning all speaking surrounded by a phalanx of senior Council officers, this was a very clear statement of intent from Hillingdon.
In the opening remarks, we were informed that Hillingdon’s economy is one and a half times greater than the size of Oxford’s which brings home the value of one single London borough to the UK’s economy. Clearly much of this economic footprint emanates from Heathrow. To say that Hillingdon Council has historically had a challenging relationship with Heathrow Airport’s owners is something of an understatement. Along with neighbouring West London boroughs, Hillingdon Council has long opposed the construction of a third runway at Heathrow. At the Conference, we were predictably told that the Council will continue to oppose the third runway which was recently resurrected by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, however the presence of a Heathrow representative on one of the discussion panels and the rhetoric from Council representatives did indicate a more pragmatic relationship between the Council and Heathrow has developed in recent years.
For other economic sectors, the rhetoric from the Council leadership was more bullish. New Cabinet Member for Planning, former Uxbridge MP Steve Tuckwell, spoke of the need to build more “good quality homes” and proudly cited the stat that last year more businesses were started in Hillingdon than any other London borough. Tuckwell has been charged with overseeing Hillingdon’s new Local Plan and made clear that his door is open for engagement with developers who are serious about investing in the area. Tuckwell’s pro-enterprise pitch was supplemented by comments from Council Leader Ian Edwards, who spoke of the need for a more strategic approach to modern industrial development. Given the large number of data centre and logistics facilities in the South of the borough, this represents significant opportunities for developers in this sector looking to build in Hillingdon.
Hillingdon is an Outer London borough which contains significant amounts of Green Belt land especially in the North of the borough. It remains to be seen how profound the new NPPF’s definition of “Grey Belt” will impact on Green Belt sites in the borough however Council Deputy Leader Jonathan Bianco acknowledged that this “top-down direction” would be significant for Outer London boroughs such as Hillingdon. As with other Council speakers, Bianco spoke of the need for the Council to build more partnerships with the private sector.
While some developers will no doubt be somewhat cynical about politicians claiming their boroughs are “open for business”, this event undoubtedly represented a step change in Hillingdon Council’s relationship with private sector investment. As I departed the event, I was left with the strong impression that this is a fantastic time for those seeking to invest in Hillingdon and Cratus Group is delighted to work with developers and investors in this mission.
