Growth boost as HCA launches new Economic Assets Programme

The process to transfer the £300m Regional Development Agency (RDA) land and property assets to the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) completed today, signalling the launch of the HCA’s newest delivery programme.

From today (19 September 2011), these assets* will form the Agency’s new Economic Assets Programme, to be delivered through the HCA’s network of local teams and led nationally by HCA Executive Director Colin Molton. The Programme aims to contribute to economic growth and renewal, and to this end, the Agency will be establishing Local Stewardship Partnerships with Local Authorities, Local Enterprise Partnerships, businesses and other local partners, who will play a key role in helping to determine the future of these assets in line with local objectives.

The programme will build on the HCA’s expertise in land and property management, maximising the potential of the assets in order to boost economic growth and regeneration in local areas.  To help drive this, around 100 former RDA staff have transferred to the HCA under TUPE arrangements, and are based in a number of HCA offices around the country.
 
Chief executive of the HCA, Pat Ritchie, said:

“Our new Economic Assets Programme strengthens our capacity to support the development of thriving communities where businesses will want to invest, thereby promoting economic growth.   We will link housing and employment initiatives in order to support local economic development ambitions.  We have a challenging and exciting job ahead of us to realise the full potential of these assets”.

The HCA will work closely with local partners to develop, invest in and dispose of assets, through local stewardship arrangements, in pursuit of agreed economic development and regeneration objectives.  

This transfer is the second stage of RDA asset transfer to the HCA.  In August, the Agency inherited a portfolio of 52 coalfield land and property assets from the RDAs, the majority of which were previously owned by the Agency (formerly English Partnerships) as part of the National Coalfields Programme.

Read the list of RDA assets which have transferred to the HCA.
 
More information here.

*List as of 26 August 2011. The final list will be available shortly.

Ends

For more media information please contact Helen Stoddart in the HCA press office, 020 7874 8263 / helen.stoddart@hca.gsx.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

In August, the HCA inherited a portfolio of 52 coalfield land and property assets from the RDAs, the majority of which were previously owned by the Agency (formerly English Partnerships) as part of the National Coalfields Programme. Since it began in 1996, the National Coalfields Programme has delivered over 2,800 hectares of land brought back into use and an estimated 21,000 jobs and attracted around £1bn of private sector investment.

In addition, 4 RDA members of staff transferred to the HCA under TUPE regulations to continue managing the coalfields work.

The remaining RDA asset portfolio transferred to the HCA as of today comprises around 300 sites and other property assets with a book value of £300m in addition to a number of other assets, including interests in several major property vehicles such as Buildings for Business in the North East (with UK Land Estates), PXP in the West Midlands (with Langtree), Chatham Maritime in Kent (with Countryside Properties), Space NorthWest (with Ashtenne) and the North West Evergreen Fund (a European Union approved ‘JESSICA’ partnership with various private investors and NW local authorities).  These assets now form part of a new national Economic Assets Programme within the HCA’s work.  Around 100 former RDA staff members have also transferred to the HCA in accordance with TUPE regulations. The exception is London where the London Development Agency’s assets will be transferred to the GLA (see below).

Under separate arrangements, BIS has also contracted with the HCA to manage BIS interests in three nationally important technology parks: Ansty Park, Coventry; the Advanced Manufacturing Park, Rotherham; and SPark, Bristol. HCA will manage these in order to continue the development of these land assets which will maximise their impact on economic growth. These sites have been identified as assets of national importance to be retained under the ownership of central Government in order to be developed further to support investments in innovation and technology. Facilities based on these sites form part of the recently established High Value Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Centre funded by the Technology Strategy Board.

The closure of the 9 Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) for England was announced in the Budget on 22 June 2010.  The RDAs were created by primary legislation through the Regional Development Agencies Act in 1998 and legislation will therefore be required to close them.  For the 8 RDAs outside London this will be through the Public Bodies Bill that is currently going through Parliament. For the London Development Agency it will be the Localism Bill, since changes to the government of London more generally are also being made through that bill.

The key benefits of the HCA’s stewardship arrangement are that they:
•    Offer influence in circumstances where local authorities and community organisations are not in a position to pay market value for assets.
•    Remove Tax Challenges through a state-to-state transaction avoiding the tax and local authority borrowing challenges.
•    Give local partners time to align assets with new Government economic growth programmes, and for longer term RDA projects inherited in the asset base to reach full maturity. This will maximise value for money.
•    Avoid sales at low value reducing the risk of the market being flooded by mass sales of assets at a weak point in the market.
•    Offer a single residuary body arrangement to Government, maximising the potential to manage receipts and commitments over the current Spending Period.  
•    Achieve localism by aligning these assets with the interests of local partners.

The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is leading the process for closure, working closely with DCLG, HM Treasury and the Government departments who fund projects and programmes currently being delivered by the RDAs. The HCA is playing a key advisory role in the process.

It is anticipated that the RDAs closure process will be completed by March 2012.
 

The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) is the single, national housing and regeneration delivery agency for England.  Our vision is to create opportunity for people to live in homes they can afford in places they want to live, by enabling local authorities and communities to deliver the ambition they have for their own areas.