This plan – the Draft Core Strategy of the Local Transport Plan for the West Midlands which has recently been put out for consultation – is for the seven Local Authorities; Birmingham Solihull, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. We have until 4th April to comment. The plan is prepared by the West Midlands Combined Authority but implementation of […]
Another article with Jon Bloomfield in Byline Times on how the current UK Government is failing to deliver on Net Zero. This article focuses on the failings in the housing sector.
An article by Jon Bloomfield and I in Byline Times looking at what transport needs to decarbonise and how the UK Government are failing.

Whilst the bruising battle between the Brexiteers and those wishing to remain in the EU fights itself out daily on our airways – the EU continues with much of its good work – largely unnoticed and unheralded – certainly in the UK. Not many of you will have heard of the Climate KIC programme from […]

There has been much comment (and some puzzlement) in the last year about how and why productivity growth at national level has not returned back to pre-crisis levels. This article in the Economist goes over some of the theories behind why this might be happening. Given the publication of a broad measure of productivity […]

I came across two things of interest today relating o the creative industries in London today. Firstly this mini report and ongoing survey of open work spaces in London being undertaken by IPPR supported by the GLA. Secondly this report on Creative Factories – focused on the creative community in Hackney Wick and Fish Island […]

This is a copy of a presentation I gave at the launch of a new co-working space – The Transfer – in Birmingham on March 5th. This is not definitive and I would welcome comments/additions etc. The Rise of Collaborative Working in Birmingham More details on this authentic new space located in a community […]
This is a short post to highlight the work that has started recently on 3 projects funded by the European Union specifically promoting the Smart City agenda. The projects are being funded under the Horizon 2020 programme. This policy area though funded by H2020 is being steered by a wide partnership approach. This body is […]

The ONS has just release figures for overseas visitors in England broken down at a County or Unitary Authority level. I have just had a quick play with these to pull out figures for the Core Cities (Not there CA/FUA definitions). These figures are averages from the period 2011-2013. The following graphic and table show […]

In the quiet of the early summer holidays the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP (GBS-LEP) published with little hoohah the report of the Silk Commission on Greater Birmingham’s Life Sciences sector. This was a much needed independent look at the potential of growth in this sector in Greater Birmingham. Life Sciences have often been touted […]