Local investment planning

Local investment planning is our way of doing business to support local authorities as they develop and implement their plans for places and communities. By working with local authorities and communities, we support, enable and facilitate the delivery of improvements for people and places. We have worked with all local authorities, either individually or in groups, to draw up Local Investment Plans that reflect local priorities for action and investment.

Position at the start of April 2011

Currently there are 170 areas where local investment planning is taking place. These areas vary according to local circumstances, from individual local authorities such as Birmingham and each London borough, housing market areas such as Leicester and Leicestershire, to city regions and Local Enterprise Partnerships such as Greater Manchester.

Many of these local investment plans have been agreed with local authorities, with most of the remaining plans at advanced stages of development. By the end of April we expect to have at least 160 local investment plans agreed.

As the outcomes of the local investment planning processes are to reflect local circumstances and priorities, the plans themselves vary significantly in content, focus and length. Many are based on the local vision and aims for the area and set out a comprehensive strategy for achieving these objectives and the investment needed over short and long terms. Others have chosen to centre on particular aspects such as increasing the supply of homes of all tenures and types for the area. .

A good practice guide - PDF (51KB)

The future

Local investment needs and priorities may change over time and are likely to include changes in:

• the local economic context
• the focus of economic development through Local Enterprise Partnerships
• the availability of finance, public or private
• in policy
• institutions and organisations, including in the HCA and local authorities

We anticipate that some of the local investment plans will be revisited and updated to ensure that they remain fit for purpose. It is a matter for local authorities whether and when to update local investment plans and any further engagement with the HCA in the local investment planning process will be at the request of local authorities.

An authority may decide to update or review a local investment plan. This could include:

• straightforward updating of existing plans
• refocusing from the comprehensive approach to one centering on particular community needs such as the needs of older people or housing provision for vulnerable people
• concentrating action and activities in particular places, for instance estate regeneration
• with limited public funding, focusing on income generation and the harnessing of other resources through the HCA’s enabling role
• realigning the boundaries of plans to suit changing relationships such as to match a Local Enterprise Partnership area.

We will continue to review our business model to ensure that it is fit for purpose and can help deliver effective services with local authorities for their communities.