What we do

All Party Urban Development Group

About the All Party Urban Development Group:

We provide the secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Urban Development Group. It was established to provide a forum for Parliamentarians to examine issues surrounding sustainable development and urban regeneration. Its chairman is Clive Betts MP.

The group holds inquiry sessions - similar in style to select committees - and is supported in its research capacity by the urban think tank, Centre for Cities.

Latest Inquiry -

REGENERATION AND THE RECESSION: UNLOCKING THE MONEY

FINAL REPORT:

The All Party Urban Development Group’s sixth inquiry has taken stock of conditions in the regeneration industry, has assessed the viability of existing regeneration financing models and has examined the challenges involved in introducing alternative financing arrangements, such as Accelerated Development Zones (ADZs), which could be adapted from the US Tax Increment Financing (TIF) model.

This report highlights the need for cities to have additional financial tools and revenue raising options, and argues that accelerated development zones (ADZs) – a UK variant on tax increment financing (TIF), which forward funds infrastructure taken from future increases in tax revenue caused by new development – should be introduced as a key step towards achieving this objective.

Based on the oral and written evidence submitted to the group’s inquiry, this report recommends that:

1. In the next Pre-Budget Report, the government should pilot a significant yet manageable number of TIFs/ADZs.

2. The next government should use these pilots to push through a fully national TIF/ADZ scheme so that cities can use accelerated development zones from 2011.

3. All cities need to adopt a more proactive approach to working with the private sector, and take on more risk.

4. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) should establish a specialist regeneration funding team to support local authorities with the practical challenges of implementing different funding models in the current climate.

For further information on the All Party Urban Development Group, please contact:

Kurt Mueller

Clerk, All Party Urban Development Group

Public Affairs Manager, British Property Federation

kmueller@bpf.org.uk

0207 802 0128 (direct)

Or visit: http://www.allparty-urbandevelopment.org.uk

Officers of the All Party Urban Development Group

Chairman: Clive Betts MP

Honourary Chair: Rt Hon Nick Raynsford MP

Vice Chair: Lord Richard Best

Vice Chair: Robert Syms MP

* The All Party Parliamentary Urban Development Group (APUDG) is a cross-party Parliamentary body of MPs and Peers committed to progressing urban renewal and sustainable development in the UK. The Centre for Cities and British Property Federation provide secretariat services for the group. The Centre for Cities and BPF are committed to providing independent impartial support to the All Party Urban Development Group. All assistance, both financial and intellectual, is fully transparent and reported to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. The BPF and Centre for Cities have pledged to abide by a strict code of conduct that has been signed by the group's officers. This can be viewed at www.allparty-urbandevelopment.org.uk.

[1] Parkinson, M et al (2009) The Credit Crunch and Regeneration: Impact and Implications London: Communities & Local Government

[2] The Core Cities Group and PwC (2008) Unlocking City Growth Interim Findings on New

[3] Funding Mechanisms London: The Core Cities Group and PwC