Regeneration schemes are to suffer a “potent cocktail” of spending cuts, says Jackie Sadek, chair of the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA), after chancellor George Osborne’s (pictured) £6.2bn cuts announcement last Monday.
The three worst-affected departments will be Business, Innovation and Skills; Communities and Local Government; and Transport (see box, opposite). Sadek says this was bad news for the regeneration sector, because it will leave a gaping hole in finance for schemes across the UK. This has increased nervousness in the sector ahead …

Government bodies are liable for up to £70m in dilapidation fees following a ban on signing new leases and lease extensions without Treasury approval.
Dilapidation consultants expect to cash in on the ban, which was revealed by PublicPropertyUK.com on Monday. It lasts until at least April 2011 and could affect up to 3.5m sq ft of central government and quango-occupied floorspace across the UK.
“We’re waiting to find out the full list of leases that aren’t being renewed, but we expect to pick up substantial work from this,” said Anthony Lorenz, founder …

Regional Development Agencies will have to delay and renegotiate contracts in order to meet the £270m savings demanded by the Treasury, according to the RDA National Secretariat.
Sir Harry Studholme (pictured), chair of the South West Development Agency and spokesman for England’s RDAs, said today that all RDA funding for 2010-2011 projects had already been committed to projects, making delays and renegotiations inevitable.
On Monday, chancellor George Osborne announced £6.2bn of in-year cuts, including £270m of savings on RDA programmes, or 20% of their budget. The chief secretary to the Treasury, David …

The coalition government plans to introduce bills to cut quangos and devolve powers to local councils under the Conservative Party’s “localism” agenda in the next parliamentary year.
This morning, the Queen set out the coalition’s plans for 22 bills at the state opening of parliament. The government plans to introduce a Decentralisation and Localism Bill to devolve more powers to councils and local communities in areas such as planning and housing.
It is also set to introduce a Public Bodies Bill, to give the government more powers to cut government quangos as …

What it is
The Treasury has today unveiled its plan to make £6.2bn savings in public sector spending in a bid to cut the deficit. This press notice was published alongside speeches by George Osborne and David Laws.
When it came out
24 May 2010
Why it is important
The government has pledged to make £170m through using its property more efficiently. It has also ordered regional development agencies to save £270m in their budgets.The Department for Communities and Local Government is expected to save £780m in the next financial year too.
To read the notice …

The government has introduced an immediate ban on central government departments and quangos signing new property leases unless they get Treasury approval.
The Efficiency and Reform Group, which was jointly launched by the Cabinet Office and the Treasury today – and is co-chaired by Francis Maude (pictured) – has stopped the signing of any new property leases or lease extensions as part of its £6.2bn cuts to public spending. The freeze will apply until the end of April 2011.
The group’s board will be chaired jointly by the chief secretary to the …

The new government is right to make cuts to public sector property and regional development agencies, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has said today.
John Philpott, chief economic adviser at the CIPD, has welcomed the promised freeze on civil service recruitment, which was announced as part of Chancellor George Osborne’s £6.25bn savings announced today. He also said that property, quangos, and  consultancy are also “ripe for cuts”.
Today, Public Property UK reported that George Osborne wants to save £170m on public property, and sharply reduce the amount of public …

Liberal Democrat MPs will be crucial in the decision-making around cuts to public sector property, according to King Sturge’s head of public sector.
Richard Haynes told Public Property UK that the business secretary, Vince Cable, and the chief secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, would be the most important players in finding efficiency savings on public assets.
On Monday, Public Property UK will report extensively on the Treasury’s announcement about the coalition’s plan to cut £6bn from public spending this year. Property is expected to be high on its agenda.
To hear about …

Jodrell Bank Observatory (pictured) in Manchester has secured £3.1m public sector funding to kickstart the redevelopment of its Science Discovery Centre.
The Northwest Regional Development Agency today confirmed the funding, and said the new building would add £26m for the regional economy over the next decade.
An investment of £2.1m is to be made by the NWDA and £1m by European Regional Development Fund in the Northwest.
All work is expected to be complete by the summer of 2011.
Steven Broomhead, chief executive of the NWDA, said: “Jodrell Bank is already an icon in …

Local authorities must not wait for central government legislation before implementing Total Place, the scheme’s architect has said.
Speaking at an event for cabinet members of local authorities in London today, Michael Bichard (pictured) urged council leaders to “maintain the momentum” of Total Place in order to “convince the new government this can not be let go”.
In the Budget in March, the Labour government launched the second phase of Total Place, saying public bodies could sell up to £35bn of property through taking a more joined up approach to their assets. …