Community wealth building

Building up from the local

This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

As local government gears up for the annual budgeting process, there is still no certainty the new government in Westminster will be prepared to grasp the nettle on local authority finance. However, there is a huge opportunity to use investment in local government to help deliver Labour’s mission for growth.

Revaluing and restoring a strong and accountable local state will be essential if we are to ‘fix the foundations of Britain’s economy’.

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Islington: building equality and prosperity though learning

In this guest blog from Islington Council’s Assistant Director of Community Learning & Libraries, Akeel Ahmed, he explains why Islington have put adult skills and learning at the heart of their community wealth building approach.

“I needed a career change and had no confidence as I hadn’t applied for a job or done any learning since I was 16. They’ve really supported me and the courses are really practical. I start my new job next month”.

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Scottish policy and practice update: Sept 24

This update is part of a regular series of rundowns of policy developments and reports on our work in Scotland, by CLES Senior Researcher and Scotland lead, Naomi Mason.

The good, the bad and the opportunities

Last week was a busy one for policy and fiscal announcements in Scotland. Tuesday morning started positive, with the launch of Developing Scotland’s Economy: Increasing the role of inclusive and democratic business models, a report committed to in the National Strategy for Economic Transformation. But later that day the fiscal pre-budget announced budget cuts and difficult economic decisions around public spend, while Wednesday saw the launch of the 2024-25 Programme for Government (PfG). As the title of this blog indicates, the three announcements produced quite a mixed bag of policy and legislation and there was a lot for those of us concerned with the future economy of Scotland to digest over the weekend.
“Scotland could soon claim a world first”
Starting with the positive, we at CLES are delighted to see community wealth building legislation coming forward in the PfG. Scotland could soon claim a world first by delivering this ground-breaking legislation which supports a framework for economic development practices which challenges economic extraction and supports local economies to flourish. If this legislation can unlock opportunities for Scotland’s SMEs to bid for public sector contracts, as well as making it easier for those in the third sector to undertake them too, then the economic opportunity to encourage wealth to flow to our local places will become far easier.

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  • Analysis: Affordable homes at risk as developers dessert cash-strapped councils

    11 Sep. 2024

    • Is now the time to reconsider community wealth building?

    This article originally appeared in the LGC.

    As the first recess of this parliament draws near, there are glimmers of hope on the horizon for local government.

    The new government seem bullish in their commitment to providing authorities with multi-year funding settlements and ending wasteful competitive bidding. Meanwhile a Bill proposed in last week’s Kings Speech will see more power devolved to the local level, albeit via combined authorities.

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  • RESEARCH

    Our places, our planet

    15th May 2024
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    • Putting the community in community wealth building 

    Last week I had the honour of delivering the opening keynote presentation at the Third Sector Interface Scotland (TSI) Network conference. This was their first in person conference since before the onset of Covid-19, and the magnitude of the many challenges the third sector in Scotland has faced in recent years was never far from my mind throughout the day.  

    The legacy of harsh austerity policies, a global pandemic and continued economic uncertainty (globally and closer to home as we have seen with the recent Scottish political upheaval) have all tested our communities’ resilience in ways we’ve never known before. But what was heartening to hear from delegates at the conference was how the third sector has continually risen to these various challenges. 
    “a large and significant economic force”
    At the height of the pandemic, the TSI Network was able to support the third sector as it responded, at pace, to the difficult conditions which were faced in our places. This raised the profile of the sector, with local groups, with their unique insights into local conditions, on hand to mobilise and deliver services where the public sector struggled to reach. Beyond the exceptional circumstances of the pandemic, recent research has shown the significant impact the third sector has on the Scottish economy overall, in terms of employment, volunteering and economic spend. With income generated totalling over £8.5bn per annum, the sector is a large and significant economic force in the Scottish economy.  

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  • GUIDE

    Community wealth building: Ireland

    13th May 2024
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    • Progressive planning frontiers

    This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal.

    The origins of the English planning system can be traced to an increased awareness of the role of the built environment in public health outcomes which came to the fore in the 1870s, following decades of cholera epidemics in cities and London’s Great Stink. The goal of formal planning rules, as they emerged in 1909 – to improve the basic living standards of the most vulnerable – evolved over subsequent decades to become an ambitious system of state-led powers for local authority control over development. Today, however, many of those early principles have been lost.

    Local development and regeneration activity is now predominantly delivered by the private sector, and concerns are often raised that objectives to support good, healthy lives for local communities have taken a backseat to the need to capture value through rents and tax income.
    “councils are understandably wary”
    While most councils are still able to exercise control over local development, through responding to applications for planning consent, the scope for refusing them has narrowed. The Town and Country Planning Act enables a local authority to impose “such conditions as they think fit” on applications, which could be a lever to place obligations on developers to contribute to progressive local outcomes, councils are often wary of pushing developers too far. Many local authorities rely on the private sector, not only to create development in their places, but also to bolster much needed council tax and business rate revenue – placing extra conditions raises the risk that those private developers will choose another place to do business. Outright refusal is similarly fraught with danger, and councils are understandably wary of costly High Court appeals by disappointed applicants.

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  • RESEARCH

    This must be the place

    23rd November 2023
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    • Be brave when times are tough

    This article originally appeared in the Municipal Journal, where our Chief Executive, Sarah Longlands, writes a regular viewpoint column.

    Inflation may have eased, but there are tough times ahead. Sarah Longlands urges local authorities to step outside their comfort zone and reimagine economic growth

    Early in my career, I worked as an economic development officer at Barnard Castle, with the objective of marketing the town to visitors in order to support local businesses and jobs. Little did we know at the time that all we needed to put this vibrant historic town back on the map was a certain person’s eye test.

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    Building Community Wealth in Scotland

    Our response to the Scottish Government’s consultation

    As Sarah Longlands shared at the end of March, we have been delighted to be able to work with partners and friends across Scotland over the last few months to understand their views on the Government’s proposals for a Community Wealth Building Bill.

    This legislations would be a powerful step forward in enabling the democratisation of our economy and would be progressive global first – that it could happen so close to home is immensely exciting. The government’s consultation closed on Tuesday this week and below we share our responses to the questions posed. We would be delighted to hear your thoughts too – please do get in touch if you would like to discuss any aspects of our response, the items under consultation or the development of community wealth building in Scotland or anywhere else.

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  • GUIDE

    Community wealth building 2023

    2nd May 2023
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    • Does it work?

    Measuring impact for community wealth building

    This blog originally appeared on the MJ.

    Does it work? As the UK’s lead organisation for community wealth building, that’s the question we’re asked most frequently as the approach continues its advance into the mainstream of economic development.

    Determining the effectiveness of real-world interventions like community wealth building is notoriously hard. Unlike testing new drugs, where randomised control trials can be used to attribute cause and effect, determining the impact of community wealth building on a local population has to be attempted in the context of the world around us – with all the messiness that entails.
    “a positive impact on [the] health and wellbeing”
    But, while this is challenging, it’s not impossible. A new paper published in the Lancet Public Health last week by the University of Liverpool, University of Central Lancashire, Lancaster University and us here at CLES, shows that community wealth building in the city of Preston is having a positive impact on the health and wellbeing of its residents.
    “3% decline in antidepressant prescribing”
    Our research found that during the period in which Preston’s community wealth building programme was introduced, there were fewer mental health problems than would have been expected compared to other similar areas, as life satisfaction and economic measures improved. The introduction of the programme was associated with a 3% decline in antidepressant prescribing, and a 2% decline in the prevalence of depression, along with a 9% improvement in life satisfaction, and an 11% increase in wages, compared to expected trends.

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